


Chasing Illusions

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Category: Smallville
Genre: AU, Amnesia, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassins, Brainwashing, F/M, Good Tess Mercer, Green Arrow - Freeform, Hope, Memory Loss, Superman - Freeform, Trigger words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:02:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 41,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24150262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Chloe Queen was believed to be dead by the masses, but her husband never gave up on her.
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan & Clark Kent, Oliver Queen & Lois Lane, Oliver Queen & Mia Dearden, Oliver Queen & Original Female Character, Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

Banner: .

  


Casey made her way out of the elevator and into the Queen Towers penthouse suite where she lived with her dad a little after three, her clothes a little dirtier than they _should_ be due to school activities. She dropped her backpack unceremoniously on the floor as she looked around the quiet apartment.

"Dad?" She called curiously, starting toward his office, where he usually was.

Oliver quickly rose to his feet, making his way across the room and toward the hallway. "Hey. I didn't realize it was that time already," he admitted, raising his eyebrows and offering her a small smile.

"Took _forever_ ," she said with a dramatic sigh, "most boring classes ever today."

He stifled a smirk at that, considering she said that _every_ day. "Tell me all about it while I fix you a snack," he told her, draping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her away from his office and back toward the kitchen.

She smiled brightly at that and nodded, wrapping her arm around her dad, "I'm starving and I don't want apples."

"Bananas it is then," he said without missing a beat.

" _Da-ad_ ," she sighed, looking up at him and making a face, "bananas are even _worse_."

He grinned involuntarily at the face she made. "You can't live on cookies, Casey."

"I'm not planning on it!" she announced, then started to grin slowly, "I'll have milk with them?"

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Two cookies, milk, half an apple."

Casey bit down on her bottom lip, considering for a moment then sighed, "okay, I'll eat half of the evil apple, but you will regret forcing me to eat them when I get poisoned by one like Snow White."

Chuckling softly, he shook his head, moving to open the fridge door. "Do we need to have the 'difference between fiction and reality' chat again?" he asked, his brown eyes filled with amusement.

"Just because it's a fairytale doesn't mean it's fiction," she told him, smirking as she walked behind him. 

She was far too smart for her own good, her mother's daughter in every way. His chest tightened at the fleeting thought, but he shook his head once more. "Well, if you get poisoned by the apple like Snow White, I'll track down a suitable prince to come in and kiss you and wake you up." He poured her a glass of milk and then sliced an apple in half, setting it on a plate for her, along with two chocolate chip cookies.

"Gross!" She grinned, climbing on one of the stools by the kitchen island, "better not risk, I don't want a stupid boy kissing me."

He smirked at that. "You realize you just sounded exactly like Mia, right?"

Casey grinned more and shrugged a little, "I do not," she said, even though she obviously had taken it as a compliment.

"Uh huh." He bit into the other half of the apple. "Well, if it's poisoned, then I guess we'll both be in a coma."

She sighed her defeat, "you don't make Mia eat them," she pointed out, taking a bite of the offending fruit. 

"Well, for one, Mia's over eighteen. I can't technically make her do anything." He leaned his elbows on the table, taking another bite and chewing and swallowing before finishing his thought. "Secondly, she's scary when she's upset."

"Dad?" She said, arching her eyebrows, "you know that telling me that being scary to get out of doing something I don't want to isn't a good idea, right?"

Oliver gave her a look. Okay, so she had a point. But he didn't have to tell _her_ that. "Also, I'm not Mia's _dad_."

With a roll of her eyes, she leaned back against her seat, "she says you're _kinda_ like her dad." 

"I'm so not old enough to be her dad," he protested.

"How much older than her are you?" She asked.

He quickly did the math in his head. "Fifteen years."

"You could _so_ be her dad," she told him with another bite of her apple. 

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Eat," he responded, frowning a little.

Casey sighed a little and looked down at her apple again, taking one more bite of it before setting it down and picking up a cookie.

He watched her for a moment. "So why was school so boring today?" he asked quietly.

"Because school is always boring," she said, shrugging and keeping her eyes on her food, "is aunt Lois coming this weekend?"

"I think so," he told her, finishing off his half of the apple and tossing the core in the trash.

"Can I call her and ask after I'm done?" She asked, lifting her head a little to look at him.

"Of course," he said, nodding a little. 

At that, Casey finished her one cookie quickly then took a long sip of her milk then sat up and looked up at him, "I'm done."

Nodding a little, he picked up her plate and carried it to the sink, then moved back to where she was sitting. He picked her up wordlessly, hugging her. "Fine. Mia's kinda like an older kid to me, too." 

Casey arched her eyebrows, confused and hugged her dad back, "I know she is, dad."

Nodding a little, he let go of her. "You remember Aunt Lois' number, right?" He set the phone down by her on the table.

With a nod, she looked up at him for a moment then reached for the phone and dialed her aunt's number. Her mom had made her memorize it along with her own number, her dad's and uncle Clark's number when she was little, just in case.

Swallowing hard, Oliver pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before heading out of the kitchen and down the hall toward his office once more. There was a new lead, and he wasn't about to let it go cold.

Casey frowned a little and shifted on her seat, "come on, aunt Lois, pick up," she murmured.

"Lois Lane here," came the reply from the other end of the line.

"Aunt Lois!" She said, brightening instantly and pushing herself from her seat so she could get down.

"Hi, Casey!" Lois' voice brightened instantly, as well. "What's up, Kiddo?"

"Are you coming this weekend?" She asked, it had been a couple of weeks since she'd seen her aunt and she didn't like not seeing her.

"Yes, I am," she said without hesitation. "Two weeks is way too long without seeing my favorite niece." Nevermind that Casey was her _only_ niece. Technically second-cousin. But Lois didn't give a damn about technicalities.

"Yay!" She grinned, "we can go to the beach!"

"What do you think about a whole slumber-party scenario? We can watch scary movies and eat popcorn and stuff," she said with a smile.   
"And ice cream?" She suggested, grinning brightly. 

"What's a slumber party without ice cream?" Lois agreed. "I'll call Mia and tell her to clear her schedule."

"Okay! And you can tell me more stories?" She asked hopefully.

Lois' heart clenched at the eagerness in the young girl's voice. "You know it. I'll bring some more pictures, too."

"Oh, okay! I'll tell dad, are you coming on Friday?"

"Bright and early," she confirmed. "I'll be there when you get home from school."

"Okay, I won't ask Amy if she wants to come over, then, because I don't want her here if you'll be here and Mia too!"

Lois smiled. "All right. How was your day?"

"School is boring," she said, then pursed her lips together and walked away from the hallway, toward the laundry room, "I think dad is in a weird mood again." Casey whispered.

Lois paused at that. She wasn't surprised, considering he'd called her earlier and asked if she could spend the weekend in Star City while he took care of some business out of town. Which meant, of course, that he thought he'd found another lead, even if he hadn't admitted it. "Well. Be sure and give him extra hugs tonight. I'm sure that'll help," she said softly.

"Okay," She said, her voice still low, a hand covering her mouth as she whispered against the receiver as if it was someone's ear. "When will he get better?"

She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Soon, hopefully," she said, her gaze drifting to the picture frame on her desk. She picked it up, her chest tightening as she gazed at it. It had been almost three years. She knew she was going to have to have a serious heart-to-heart with Oliver when she was in the city, and she wasn't really looking forward to it.

Casey nodded a little and nodded, "I'll go give him hugs, give uncle Clark hugs for me?"

"I will," Lois promised. "And I'll see you on Friday. I love you."

"Love you too!" She said, followed by a quick, "bye!" And she hung up.

Lois hung up the phone, as well, sitting back in the chair at her desk at the Planet and sighing softly. It was going to be a long week.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the week dragged on by. Lois had been anxious to have a talk with her brother-in-law since the call from her niece. It was around three in the afternoon when she finished up with her work and asked her husband to fly her to California.

A little past the one P.M. local time in Star City and a heat Lois had not expected, she said goodbye to Clark and made her way into the Queen penthouse building, wheeling in a suitcase that was about three times the size a normal person would have for a weekend stay. Without waiting to be buzzed in, she pressed the code on the keypad and made her way to the top floor, two hours should be enough time for her to knock some sense into Ollie and see how she could help him before Casey got home.

"Ollie?" She called, "you have a guest, come get my luggage!" She told him. She used to yell at him and Chlo for them to put pants on whenever she came over, but she knew that would only upset him now. Still.

Oliver emerged from his home office a moment later, making his way down the hallway with raised eyebrows when he caught sight of her bag. "Lois...and here I thought Clark was the one with the motto 'always be prepared.'" He shook his head a little. "Did you manage to fit the kitchen sink in there, too? Cause you know, I have one already."

"Oh you still have humor in you, good to know," she told him, smirking and letting go of her suitcase before pulling him into a hug.

He let out a breath, hugging her back and shutting his eyes for a moment. "Occasionally humor does happen."

She hugged him tightly for a moment before pulling back, "good to see you."

He offered her a small smile. "Good to see you, too, Lois." He reached down and picked up her suitcase, groaning a little. "Seriously. Did you pack _bricks_?"

"Shoes and coats, I should have checked on the weather before I came, Metropolis is forty degrees colder." She told him, waving a hand, "it has wheels for a reason, Ollie."

"Point." He set the suitcase back down and wheeled it toward the hallway. "Your usual room okay?"

"Yeah," Lois agreed, keeping her eyes on him as she followed, "but I'll worry about unpacking later, there's a lot of ground we should cover before Casey gets home."

He blinked, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Meaning...?"

"Meaning, what kind of business trip exactly are you planning on taking this weekend?"

 _That_ kind of ground. He should have guessed. But he wasn't entirely focused on Lois. "Chicago," he told her, flipping on the light to the guest room she always used when she stayed there with them. "But don't worry, I should be back by Sunday afternoon." Hopefully.

"I'm not worried about how long you'll be gone, Ollie. I have plenty of vacation Perry is begging me to take if I need to stay with her," she told him, "what's in Chicago?"

He was silent for a moment, and then he turned slowly to face her. "A lead," he said quietly. He could lie to a lot of people about a lot of things, but he'd never been able to lie to Lois once she'd learned the biggest secret he'd ever kept.

Lois nodded a little and took a deep breath, watching him closely as she leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms over her chest, "I figured as much," he didn't really leave Casey's side unless he had a lead, "what did you find?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "It might be nothing," he said quietly.

"Like every other lead you had so far," she said, a worried look on her face.

Oliver's jaw tightened just a little. "And I'll keep following them until I find the right one."

"Ollie," she sighed, dropping her hands to her side and pushing herself from the door frame, "I want to find her as much as you do, but it's been three years. You can't keep letting this search control your life like this. You have an eight year old little girl who is worried about her dad, you should be worrying about her, not the other way around."

He flinched at the remark. "I'm not going to give up, Lois. I _can't_."

"Neither am I," Lois told him, "but you can't drop everything every time there is the slightest possibility you found something. We have all looked everywhere. Just because someone saw someone who looked slightly like her in Chicago doesn't mean you need to torture yourself like this. I want to hold on to hope too, but I need to take care of my life first and you need to do the same."

"It's been six weeks." His voice grew quiet.

"Six weeks since what, the last one?" She asked, frowning a little.

He swallowed hard, looking away from her. "It's the longest there's been without _some_ kind of lead," he whispered.

Lois sighed softly and looked down before looking at him again, "maybe it's time we start believing what everyone else does." She hated to even suggest that, but she knew they couldn't keep doing this forever.

"No," he said sharply. "It's not. Because it's not true, Lois."

"It's been three years, Ollie. Don't you think she'd have found us by now?" She asked, looking at him.

His chest tightened at that. "Stop," he whispered, his voice harsh.

Lois sighed and rubbed her hands over her face, "you need to control yourself better when you're around your daughter, you need to be her support system and you can't do that when you're still this mess, Oliver." She told him firmly.

"We've been _fine_ ," he informed her, moving past her and toward the door.

"She's not fine when she's calling me because she's worried about her dad, Ollie! You need to stop ignoring the fact that the same day you lost your wife, Casey lost her mom!"

Oliver froze in his steps, then slowly turned to face her. "I'm not ignoring anything. I've never...I wouldn't--" His voice was strained.

"I know you're not worrying her on purpose," Lois said, sighing, "but you need to focus on her first. The older she gets, the more she'll understand and the harder it will be on her."

He rubbed his hands over his face. "I know she misses her too. I know that."

"Of course she does," she told him, placing a hand on his arm, "we all do. But we both know what it feels like to lose a parent, especially when you're young, and you know how important it is for her to know she has you one hundred percent when she needs."

When he pulled his hands away from his face, tears shone in his eyes. "I hear you."

Lois' eyes were teary too and she nodded, "I'll do everything I can to help, you know that, but she needs her dad."

Oliver blew out a breath, looking away. "What if the lead I don't follow is the right one, Lois?" His voice was barely audible.

"I'll look into it." She promised.

"No," he whispered. "This one has to be me. You're already here anyway, right?"

She considered him for a moment then nodded, "after this one though, you focus on _Casey_ ," Lois had been looking for leads herself, but she didn't have anyone other than Clark to take care of and Clark was old enough to understand.

Oliver nodded a little, as well. "I need to finish getting ready."

"Go ahead," she told him, "I gotta unpack before she gets here."

He nodded once more and headed out the door, rubbing a hand over his face again tiredly.

Lois nodded a little and turned back to her suitcase, at least that was out of the way, now she had to get a good idea at how her niece was doing.

* * *

Oliver had set his luggage by the door and was on the phone with his pilot when he heard footsteps approaching the door. "All right. See you shortly. Thanks, Bill." He reached out and opened the door, giving Casey a smile as he stepped aside to let her in as he was hanging up the phone.

Casey raised her eyebrows and dropped her backpack on it's usual spot by the door, on the floor of course and looked around, she didn't see her aunt or Mia, but if her dad was leaving, she knew at least one of them was there.

"Hey, Case." He leaned down and picked her up, hugging her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back, "you're leaving?"

He rested his head against hers for a moment. "Just a couple of days. Business trip. But Lois is here and Mia's gonna be here soon, too." His voice was soft.

Pursing her lips together, Casey nodded then hugged him tighter. "Okay."

Oliver held his breath. "I'll bring you back some cool stuff," he whispered.

"Okay," she said again, "I love you, daddy." She told him, "and I won't let Mia have _all_ the ice cream."

"I love you, too," he murmured. "So much. You know that right?" He pulled back to look at her.

Casey nodded, smiling a little at her dad, "where are you going?"

"Chicago," he told her, setting her down on the floor once more. "But I'll be back on Sunday." He smoothed some hair back from her face.

"Okay," she said with a nod, "I'll get aunt Lois to help with my homework," she said, making a face.

A smile tugged at his mouth at that. "Unless it's math. Then ask Aunt Mia instead." He winked at her.

She grinned and nodded, shrugging, "got it."

Oliver grinned back at her. "You ladies have big plans this weekend, I hear."

"We're going to the beach tomorrow!" She grinned, "Mia said she was gonna teach me how to surf!"

He smiled at that. Other than AC, he couldn't think of a better surf instructor for Casey than Mia. "Just be careful, and have a lot of fun."

"We will," she grinned, "I'll show you everything when you get back."

"I'm holding you to that." He kissed the top of her head.

"Just two days, right?" She asked, looking up at him.

Oliver's expression softened. "Just two days," he whispered, kneeling down in front of her. "And then...no more business trips for awhile."

Casey arched her eyebrows at that, her expression hopeful, "promise?"

"Promise. Unless it's one where you can come with me," he told her, his chest tightening.

Her eyes widened a little and she grinned, "and I can miss school!?"

Oliver chuckled involuntarily. "We'll see," he told her with amusement.

" _Awesome_!" She said excitedly, hugging him once more, "best dad ever."

He hugged her back without hesitation, a soft smile touching his mouth. "Best daughter ever," he responded, kissing her cheek.

Casey grinned even more when she heard noise down the hall but didn't let go of her dad, "aunt Lois!" She called.

Lois came down the hall quickly at the sound of her name, grinning at Casey. "Hey, Kiddo!"

"Hi!" She greeted excitedly then turned to her dad, "we're having a slumber party tonight."

"I heard." He smiled, glancing up at Lois and then back at Casey.

"Do we have popcorn?" She asked her dad, arching her eyebrows at him.

"In the cabinet," he confirmed with a nod. He glanced at Lois once more. "Don't forget the peanut allergy, and if she needs anything day or night, call me."

Casey looked at her aunt and rolled her eyes then smirked. Her dad always said the exact same thing.

Lois rolled her eyes at the same time. "Yes, yes. I know this." She gave Casey a look.

Giggling a little, Casey hugged her dad once more, "aunt Lois knows _everything_ except for math."

She narrowed her eyes. "I can do _math_."

Oliver hugged his daughter back and glanced at Lois, smirking. "It's okay, Lois. No one expects you to be _perfect_."

"Calculators don't count!" Casey teased.

Lois folded her arms across her chest, giving the two of them a mock glare. "Hmph."

He chuckled and kissed Casey's forehead. "I'll be home Sunday. I love you."

"Love you too," she told him, grinning up at him.

He rose to his feet and looked at Lois. "See you Sunday, Aunt Lois." He smirked.

Lois mock glared at him and nodded, "go ahead, we have plans to attend to."

Nodding, he picked up his luggage and headed for the door. "Talk to you soon," he promised.

"Good," Lois called after him.

Casey looked at her dad then rushed over at her aunt and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist.

He waved over his shoulder as he made his way to the elevator, the smile leaving his face as soon as he was out of sight. His chest was tight. _Please God let it be her this time._ Because he couldn't stop trying and the last thing he wanted was to break a promise to his daughter.


	3. Chapter 3

  
Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

Oliver never loved the Windy City. Frankly, he'd never loved any city but his own, although Metropolis, for all its fond memories--bittersweet as they may have been the last few years--ran a close second. But Chicago was too cold, especially in the month of January, and the city was doing its best to live up to its name.

But if there was any chance that his lead was right--that his wife really was somewhere here, he'd damn sure love the city then. He might even decide to declare said love in the form of buying Wrigley Field and keeping a goat right on the premises.

He'd be a Cub fan for life, and he wasn't even into baseball.

Raking a hand through his hair, he made his way down the street toward the little cafe that he'd been informed was where she'd supposedly been seen, holding his breath as he headed inside and looked around warily.

And she was there. In the corner of the room with a big mug in front of her and a laptop open on the table. She didn't seem aware of her surroundings, but there was a slight smile on her lips as she read the screen in front of her.

Her hair was longer and light brown and Oliver held his breath, taking a step closer, and then another, his heart beating hard in his chest. "Chloe?" he whispered.

She looked up and raised her eyebrows, cocking her head and smiling up at the stranger, "sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else."

He stared at her. Except for the color and length of her hair, it was her. Even the voice was her. "Are you sure?" he whispered.

She looked at him for a moment, frowning a little and smirking slightly, "pretty sure, at least the name I have on my ID isn't Chloe," she said lightly.

Oliver opened his mouth to speak, his heart beating even more heavily in his chest. "May I sit down for a moment?"

Frowning even more, she pursed her lips together and nodded, moving to close her laptop then arching her eyebrows curiously at him. If this was him hitting on her he seriously had to learn some new moves.

He slowly sat down in the seat across from her. "Do you know who I am?" he asked very quietly, searching her eyes.

Shaking her head slowly, she kept her eyes on him, her expression puzzled, "no... should I?"

He swallowed hard. "My name is Oliver Queen." He folded his hands on the table.

"Okay," she said, looking down at his hands and shifting on her chair, "I'm Laura Green."

His eyes widened just a little at that. That couldn't be a coincidence. Laura, like his mother. And Green for a last name?

At the look on his face, Laura took a deep breath, "is there anything I can help you with?"

She really had no idea who he was. Who _she_ was. Swallowing hard, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and flipped through a series of pictures until he found the one he'd been looking for. One of the two of them together. He slid the phone across the table to her wordlessly.

Laura frowned at the stranger then looked down at the phone, her eyes widening as she picked it up and pulled it closer to take a better look at it. The woman in the picture had short blond hair and looked absolutely ecstatic, as happy as one could get. Other than that, she looked exactly like her. But she knew it wasn't her, she'd never had blond hair before, "oh, we do look alike."

"Yes," he whispered, not able to take his eyes off her.

She looked at the picture for a moment longer then slid the phone back to him, "who is she?" The picture didn't seem to be that old but the man sitting across for her looked a lot older, exhausted and even defeated. It was a big contrast to the image she had just seen.

"My wife," he murmured, still gazing at her. "She's been missing for three years now."

"Oh," her face fell a little, "I'm sorry to hear that."

He shifted slightly in the booth. "Have you lived in Chicago your whole life?"

"Yeah," she told him, "I was born here."

Oliver's chest tightened. "How sure of that are you?" he whispered.

"Look, Mr. Queen. I'm really sorry about your wife but I know who I am," she told him quietly.

He looked down at the table for a moment, then back up at her, his heart beginning to beat faster once more as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Do you have a scar?" He lifted his hand to his right shoulder, running a finger just along his collarbone. "Tiny, but right here?" 

She stilled at that, staring at the man across from her, her eyes widening slowly as she reached for her shirt and pulled it to the side just enough to show it to him, "how-- how did you know?"

Oliver inhaled sharply, his eyes growing warm. "Because your name isn't really Laura Green," he whispered, his voice thick. "It's Chloe Queen."

"No," she told him, shaking her head slowly, "I've lived here my whole life, I don't remember ever seeing you before, I would remember you if I had _married_ you. This is crazy." She said, reaching for her laptop and shoving it back into its case, "I don't know how you knew about my scar, but I grew up in Chicago, I remember _that_ , not you, certainly not Chloe Queen."

"There's no other way I could have known about that scar if I wasn't right about who you are," he said, shaking his head, as well. "You said it yourself, you don't remember meeting me. Maybe you have some kind of amnesia, maybe someone's convinced you you're this Laura Green, but I know who you are. Who you _really_ are!"

A few heads turned in their direction and she stared at the man, "I have no idea who you _think_ you are but for all I know, you're some creep who has been stalking me because I look like someone you knew. If I had amnesia I wouldn't remember my childhood." She stood up, "stay away from me."

Oliver rose to his feet, as well, blocking her path. "Please," he whispered, his brown eyes pleading. "Please, just give me a chance to prove it. I can prove it to you."

She stared at him for a long moment, "how?"

"A blood test," he whispered, holding his hands up. "You don't have to go anywhere with me just the two of us. Please. _Please_. There's a hospital just down the street, we can walk there, I'll even call the police for an escort if it will make you feel safer."

"And when it turns out you're wrong, you will never come anywhere near me again." She said, watching a stranger just beg her like that was disconcerting but she could tell he was incredibly distressed and if this was what he needed to move on from the wife that she guessed was dead, she could deal with it, "and you're paying for it." She added. Contract work didn't exactly come with insurance.

"Deal," he said without hesitation. Because he knew it wasn't going to turn out that way. The woman standing before him was Chloe, his wife. He'd bet his own life on it--twice over.

Laura stared at the man for a moment before taking one more sip of her coffee and picking up her laptop bag as well as her purse then starting out of the coffee shop without another word. So much for getting work done.

* * *

An hour later found the two of them in the waiting room at the hospital as they awaited the test results. Thankfully his fame and money _did_ still help him get his way when it really counted. Like now. Even as he sat across from her, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. All he could think was _she's really alive._

The fact that he kept on, literally, just staring at her was more than a little unsettling. She wasn't used to being stared at, mostly she went on by unnoticed, stood in the background, not many people paid attention to her. All of her life she just had been a wallflower but this guy didn't seem to think so. He seemed to think she was his wife who, according to a quick google search on her phone, had been dead for three years.

"How much longer?" She asked, shifting uncomfortably on the chair.

"Hopefully not much," he whispered, his gaze shifting to the floor for a moment. "I...apologize for staring. It's just..."

"I look a lot like her," she finished the sentence for him and sighed softly. If it hadn't been for the scar thing and his obvious desperation, she wouldn't have agreed to it. But to be honest, she didn't remember where that scar had come from either, for a long time she thought maybe it was when she had the chickenpox when she was four, but it was too big for it to be that. And there were other things that seemed to be spotty about her past too but she never allowed herself to focus on it, the past was a waste of time anyway.

 _Because you are her_ , he thought, though he didn't say it. He nodded a little and shut his eyes for a brief moment, exhaling slowly, then opening them again. "The most beautiful woman I've ever met," he whispered.

She sighed and shifted uncomfortably, looking away from him, wishing she had something to busy herself with, "I'm sorry you lost her," was all she could offer.

He was quiet for a few seconds, and then he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "She's amazing," he told her quietly. 

"Maybe this will help you move on," she pointed out, a little too bluntly.

"Or maybe it will confirm what I already know," he responded, not taking his eyes off her.

She sighed softly and shook her head, "you obviously have money and a name that speaks for itself, you should have better help with that."

His eyebrows furrowed a little. "Better help?"

"Doctors, therapists." She told him. Clearly, he needed it. "How many other women that looked like her have you found?"

A faint, amused smile touched his mouth. "None," he informed her. "There have been multiple leads, of course, but when I saw them for myself I always knew right away it was another dead end." He paused. "Until now."

She sighed and checked the time on her phone, shifting on her seat and looking at the door. It was sad how deluded he was, but hopefully this would put an end to it. 

"What if I'm right?" His voice was quiet as he watched her. "What if you aren't who you think you are?"

"That's not possible," she told him simply, looking back at him.

"You'd be surprised what's possible," he said quietly.

At that, she frowned a little, "meaning what?" She asked, this time with a little more curiosity.

"Meaning that...if you are who I believe you are, the two of us have seen and done some pretty incredible things," he told her, watching her intently. "Things that most people wouldn't ever believe." 

"Assuming you're right," she said skeptically, "I'm sure I'll get to hear all about those things, otherwise, I rather remain with the rest of the population."

He winced at that and looked down. "Right."

"I don't _know_ you, Mr. Queen, and although it seems like the entire hospital staff does, I have no idea why they would know you and have no reason to trust you," she pointed out.

Oliver glanced up at her once more. Then he looked down at one of the magazines that was set out on a table. He picked it up and rose to his feet, moving over to her and holding it out silently.

She took the magazine, looking at him for a moment then at the cover, her eyes widening a little. She had no idea why a hospital would subscribe to Forbes, but there it was. That obviously wasn't the point, however. He was on the cover and the article seemed to be about his billionaire status and his business ventures. Oliver Queen, from Queen Industries. America's favorite billionaire and superhero and yet, she had _never_ heard of him. At all.

"Weird." She muttered, opening the magazine to the article on him, a frown appearing on her face.

He squatted down in front of her, gazing up at her and watching as she read the article. "I know you don't know me." He paused. "Or at least you don't remember it. And you have no reason to trust me," he whispered. "But I swear to you that I would never do anything to hurt you, ever." His chest tightened.

"I don't understand," she said quietly, glancing at him then going back to the article, "you seem to be a huge deal and I don't exactly live under a rock, why _don't_ I know your name?"

Oliver paused at that, cocking his head to the side as his eyebrows furrowed. It was a valid question. His heart began to beat a little faster. "I'm not sure," he admitted.

Laura sighed softly and turned back to the article, reading it intensely both out of curiosity and to keep herself busy.

He drew in a breath and hesitantly took the seat beside her, looking down at his hands silently.

She didn't move or acknowledge him for a long time, she even re-read some paragraphs of the article to make sure she understood and also to make it last longer but when she knew she couldn't pretend to be reading anymore, she sighed and closed the magazine.

"What do you do?" he asked quietly, still staring at his hands.

"Contract work for insurance companies," which made her lack of insurance all the more ironic.

Oliver nodded a little, exhaling slowly. "Still think I'm crazy?"

"For thinking I'm someone else, yes," she told him then shrugged, "you seem to be a good guy otherwise." The article had been talking about his business and all the charities he'd both started and helped fund over the years and just how many non-profits were associated with his name.

He managed a faint, tiny smile at that, looking up and holding his breath as a lab technician and a doctor made their way into the room.

Laura held her breath too, shifting on her seat and looking up at the man. She had no idea what to think at this point, there was obviously something she was missing and she had no idea how to even begin trying to figure out what it is, or why she was missing it, but the thought that her entire life was a lie was too overwhelming to consider.

"Why don't we all step into my office?" the doctor suggested, raising his eyebrows and nodding to the little room to the right.

Oliver felt his chest tighten at that, and glanced at her uncertainly.

Pursing her lips together she shifted and glanced at Oliver too then sighed and stood up, nodding at the doctor and following him to the smaller room. She wanted to get it over with.

He followed behind slowly, his heart beating quickly in his chest. Suddenly his mouth felt dry, his palms sweaty. It was her. It _had_ to be her.

The doctor and the lab technician took seats and gestured for the two of them to do the same.

"We put a rush on the results and we've compared them to the ones that your doctor faxed over from your wife's medical records, Mr. Queen," he began.

Laura took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest, looking between the two men with the information, "can we get to the point?" She interrupted impatiently.

The lab technician narrowed his eyes a little at her, then looked at the doctor, who nodded.

"You're a match. One hundred percent," he informed her.

Oliver leaned heavily against the door, staring at them with wide eyes.

She stilled, her own eyes widening as she glanced at Oliver, who seemed to be in as much a shock as she was, but then focused on the doctor again, " _what_? How is that possible? I don't even _know_ this man and how do I know he didn't just pay you to tell me that because he has some screwed up need for closure?" She demanded, her voice shaking slightly with panic and confusion.

"You're, of course, free to have as many blood tests done as you'd like," the lab tech informed her. "DNA doesn't lie."

"And if I had to wager a guess without a full medical exam, it would be that you've experienced some kind of traumatic event that resulted in a kind of amnesia," the doctor added.

"The explosion," Oliver whispered, rubbing his hands over his face.

"I don't _have_ amnesia," she told them, "I have all my memories, I remember what I had for dinner last night and I remember my fifth birthday when i fell on my face and thought I had broken my tooth but it was just loose," she told him, "I remember my parents and I remember my best friend from elementary school, how is this amnesia?" She demanded.

Oliver turned to look at her, and when he spoke, his voice was soft. "Where are all these people? Your parents? Your friend from school?" He gazed at her intently.

Laura shifted uncomfortably then turned to look at him, "my parents died in a car accident when I was eighteen and I lost touch with my friends." She told him, her arms tightening around herself.

"If you're right, there would be records. Articles," he said quietly.

"And if I'm not? Then what? You expect me to just take off with you to wherever the hell it is that you live?"

He shut his eyes, his chest tightening painfully. "I won't force you to do anything, Chl--Laura." He swallowed hard. "But if I'm right, would you at least be willing to talk to me? To listen for awhile?" He opened his eyes to look at her once more.

"Like I have any choice," she muttered, rubbing her hands over her face and sighing, her head felt blank all of the sudden and even if it hadn't, she was sure her thoughts would be a mess so it was better this way.

"There's always a choice," he whispered, looking down.

"No, there isn't," she said, taking a deep breath and glancing at the doctor, "thank you," she muttered before reaching for the door and stepping out of the room, walking back to where she'd been sitting and picking up her things.

He followed her silently, his hands in his pockets.

She took a deep breath and turned to face him again, "so where are we going?"

Oliver met her eyes, so familiar, but right now, so different at the same time. "Wherever you're comfortable going with me," he said softly.

"I'm not taking you to my apartment so I guess wherever you're staying," she said dryly, staring at him.

He hesitated. "It can be someplace public. I don't want you to be afraid of me."

Laura stared at him for a moment longer then nodded and started out of the room, it was in his best interest to follow her so she didn't think she had to worry about him coming with her.

His chest tightened at her silence and he followed her, feeling a mixture of relief and confusion and hurt and uncertainty and...

Realizing that she felt most of that, too, along with a big dose of fear on top of it.

Because no matter how shocked he was that he'd actually found her, she clearly had no idea that she'd ever been lost in the first place.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

  


She walked ahead the entire time, the place she was headed was only about four city blocks away from the hospital and it had been the only place she could think of. She lead him to Grant park and didn't stop walking until she was further down a path, by a wooded area. Slowing down, she looked around and found a bench she deemed acceptable and sat down without a word.

Confused didn't even begin to explain how she felt, she felt disoriented and just kind of... numb. She wanted answers but she was afraid of getting them considering what answers had done to her just fifteen minutes ago.

Oliver sat down beside her on the bench, keeping some space between them so he didn't make her anymore uncomfortable than she already was. "You must have a million questions." His voice was quiet.

"That doesn't begin to cover it," she sighed, rubbing her hands over her face then crossing her legs over the bench and resting her elbows on her knees, "tell me how you think this happened."

Nodding, he glanced over at her, his heart twisting in his chest. "You were on a story. In Boston. You're--were...a reporter. For the Star City Register," he said softly. "I don't know exactly what happened, but the building you were in...there was an explosion. A lot of people died." He held his breath for a moment. "People assumed you had, too."

"But you obviously didn't believe that," she said, not looking at him, keeping her eyes on the icy grass instead.

"No," he whispered. "No, I never have."

"Why not?" She asked, resting her chin on her hands.

"I didn't _feel_ it," he said softly. "They say when you've met the right one, and they're suddenly gone, you feel it. I never have."

At that, she actually glanced at him, "okay so how did you find me?"

"I've had people looking since the explosion. Even if they didn't necessarily believe you were still alive," he admitted, glancing at her, as well. "One of them recognized you a couple days ago, and sent me the information."

"And so you came to find me," she summarized, taking a deep breath, "how did I get here, then? And if everything I know is a lie then where did it come from?"

"I don't know," he said softly. "But I promise you I'm going to do everything in my power to find those answers for you."

She sat up straight and looked over at him, "and what am I supposed to do until then?" She asked, frowning deeply.

Oliver hesitated. "I don't know. Like I said before, I won't...force you to do anything." He gazed at her, his expression open and vulnerable. "But you're welcome to come to Star City with me. It's where we...live." He bit his lower lip.

"I'm not going anywhere without answers," she said again, not as firmly this time.

He held his breath at that, nodding a little and looking down. "I'll find them for you," he whispered. "And I'll answer any questions you have that I know the answers to already."

She sighed deeply and nodded, shrugging, "what else should I know?"

He rubbed a hand over his face as his mind immediately flashed to their eight year old daughter. _Whom she didn't remember at all_. "There's a lot," he admitted softly. "Our lives were complicated."

"So you mentioned," Laura said, "what kind of complicated?"

He hesitated a moment, glancing at her once more and drawing in a deep breath. Better she find out from him than a tabloid or google search. "For one...have you ever heard of the Green Arrow?" He searched her eyes.

She looked at him for a moment then shrugged and shook her head, "no, what is it?"

A faint, albeit worried smile touched his mouth. "It's a he, actually. Sort of a...vigilante that patrols the streets at night and tries to keep people safe. Sort of like Superman but without the super powers?"

" _Superman_?" She asked even more confused as she stared at him.

Oliver stared at her. "You don't...know about him, either?"

"...No?" She told him, frowning, "should I?"

He held his breath. "He's been on the cover of nearly every major newspaper in the country on a regular basis for the past six years." He swallowed hard, a sickening feeling making his stomach tighten. "And on all the news stories and..." Christ. What the hell was going on? How could she not have heard about Superman? It didn't make any sense unless....

Unless someone had programmed her not to remember anything about any of them.

"I read the paper," she told him, shaking her head at the look on his face, "well, I read them online but I read the Times and I read a couple of the local ones and I haven't read anything about Superman, Green Arrow or Oliver Queen for that matter."

"This isn't an accident," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her eyes narrowing, he better tell her more than that soon or her head would explode.

He turned his head to look at her, his face paler than it had been. "The explosion. It wasn't an accident like they reported. Someone was after you. It's the only thing that makes any sense."

Laura even managed an incredulous smirk at that, "why would _anyone_ be after _me_?"

His chest tightened painfully. "Because you were the heart and soul of a group of superheroes. Like Superman and Green Arrow."

"Superheroes." She echoed, not sure if she should laugh or just go along with it. She was supposedly the wife of a billionaire, after all.

"I know how it sounds," he whispered. "But I swear to you I'm not lying. Look at me."

She sighed deeply and reluctantly turned her head to look over at him.

"Really look at me," he whispered, wanting to reach out and touch her, but not sure how she would take that. "Do I look like I'm trying to pull some kind of elaborate prank?"

Laura watched him closely for a long moment, even though she had pretty much accused him of just that, unless he was a damn good actor, she'd known from the beginning that he wasn't. Especially since that picture, his eyes and the fact that there was something missing in them by comparison. Of course she didn't know the guy at all, but she didn't have to excel at reading people to know he was hurting. Probably a lot.

"No." She answered finally, sighing, "but you have to admit, everything you're telling me, it's more than a little out there."

"I know it is." He gazed at her. "I also know you can handle it. Because you always have. Even though you don't remember it."

She shifted and dropped her feet to the ground, placing her hands on her lap, "look," she said with a deep breath, "let's say that I believe you, let's say that somehow my memory is screwed up. I'm still _not_ the person you used to know. I'm not your wife, I don't _know_ if I can handle any of what you're telling me."

Shaking her head slightly, she pursed her lips together, "whoever your wife was, her memories, her life, everything that made her who she was, I don't have _any_ of it except maybe the same body. I'm not _her_. I didn't live through the things she did and I obviously don't know everything she did and all of that makes a huge difference, was she even from Chicago?"

He shut his eyes for a moment. "No, she wasn't," he whispered. "She was from Metropolis, Kansas."

"I've never even _been_ to Kansas." She told him, shaking her head slight.

"But you have," he whispered. "You just don't remember it." He swallowed hard, turning his head to look at her. "You have family. Not just me. But you have a father and a cousin who love you very much." _You have a daughter_.

"That's what I'm trying to _say_ to you," she said, frustrated and stood up, "I don't know any of that or those people or anything else that you're telling me about and you can't expect me to react like your wife would."

"I'm not. I don't..." He rose to his feet, too, drawing in a shuddering breath. "I don't expect you to just accept all of this and come home and be a happy family again. I..." He looked away, hot tears stinging his eyes. He forced himself to take another deep breath. "I'm just...I'm asking you to keep an open mind," he whispered. "I will find answers for you. Don't you _want_ to know the truth? Don't want you to know who did this to you? Who made you forget your life? Who made you think you're someone else?"

Her own chest tightened at his words and she looked away, blowing a breath. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him, he had obviously gone through a lot and it looked like she only knew the very beginning of it. "Yes," she said, rubbing her hands over her face, "but I don't want you to just assume I can deal with this because wanting to know the truth is the only thing that is stopping me from taking off right now."

"All right," he whispered, holding up his hands. "All right. I won't...I won't make any assumptions. I swear. Just..." He shut his eyes for a moment. "We'll do this on your terms. Whatever those might be."

Laura sighed deeply and watched him for a moment then rubbed her hands over her face "okay," she breathed, finally looking at him again, "give me your number or something, I'll go home and write down questions and I'll call you tomorrow so we can meet again."

"All right." Nodding a little, he reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet, pulling out one of his business cards. "Do you uh--do you have a pen?" he whispered. "I'll write my cell down too."

"Yeah," she told him, reaching inside her laptop bag and holding one out to him a moment later.

"Thanks." He reached out for it, his fingers brushing over hers lightly and he swallowed hard as his chest tightened, his eyes meeting hers for a brief moment before he took the pen from her, scribbling his number down at the bottom of the card and holding it and the pen out to her.

She took both items and slid the pen back in her bag but placed the card in her jeans' back pocket then turned to him again, "I'll call you tomorrow," she said, her chest a little tighter than before. She didn't want to give him a time because she didn't know when she was going to be able to do it, "are you staying in the city?"

Oliver nodded slightly. "Yes. I'm in a hotel a few blocks from here," he said quietly.

"Okay," pursing her lips together the watched him for a moment longer then gathered her things once more, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

The thought of her leaving his sight made him want to be physically ill, but he knew he didn't have a choice. "I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered.

Laura watched him for just a little longer then nodded and without another word, turned away from him and started in the opposite direction they had come from. Part of her felt bad about leaving him, but she ignored it. She didn't know this guy and she had to at least google everything he was telling her, despite how much her gut was telling her to believe him, she wasn't that stupid.

* * *

Hours later found Oliver sitting on his bed at the hotel, staring blankly at the phone in his hand. Not wanting to tie up his cell in case Chloe tried to call, he picked up the hotel phone and dialed the familiar number, pressing the phone to his ear.

Lois answered a moment later, "hey," she said, not wanting to give him shit right away in case things hadn't gone well, which, more than likely, they hadn't.

"Hey," he answered back, his voice quiet.

She winced at his tone and had to stop herself from sighing, "Casey is in the shower, she was asking about you but I'll have her call when she's done."

"I found her."

" _What_?" And she was suddenly on her feet. "I'm grabbing her and I'm having Clark bring us right now."

" _No_ ," he responded, his voice tired, but firm. "I found her, Lois. But she doesn't remember _anything_."

Lois stilled, blinking a couple of times, "she... doesn't? How do we fix it? I can ask Clark to take her to the fortress, didn't they mess up with her memory once before?"

"No. Not...not like this. This is something different." He shut his eyes, feeling exhausted.

"What do you mean?" She pushed, "spit it out, Ollie. I need to know before shortie finishes her shower."

"Lois, someone did this to her intentionally. Wiped out her memories, replaced them all with new ones and she doesn't ever remember hearing about Superman or Green Arrow or any other vigilante. She had never even heard of Oliver Queen."

"You think the explosion was a set up?" She asked, eyes wide, "who?"

"I don't know," he said quietly. "I don't have the answers right now. But it's her. She's alive, Lois."

"Do you think Casey would be okay with Mia? I can leave after she goes to bed, I wanna see her." She didn't want to leave her niece but she needed to see it for herself.

"I don't think that..." He rubbed a hand over his face. "We have to do this one at her pace."

Lois paused, "you can't just tell me you found my cousin who has been assumed dead for three years, Ollie, and expect me not to come see her."

"She doesn't know who you are, Lois. And she's freaked out already," he whispered.

She sighed and deflated, "can you at least send me a picture of her or something?"

"Hopefully tomorrow," he said softly, wishing he'd thought to _take_ a picture. "She's supposed to call me so we can meet again."

"You let her _go_!?" Lois gasped.

"Believe me, I didn't want to. But I couldn't just hold her hostage against her will, either." He shut his eyes, his chest tight.

"Then you should have followed her! Keep an eye on her." Lois said.

"I know where she is," he said quietly.

Lois relaxed a little at that, but just a little. "Just don't lose her."

"I won't," Oliver told her, hoping he was right.

"Good," she sighed, "Case is done, do you wanna talk to her or do you wanna call back later?" She asked quietly.

"I'll talk to her."

"Email me if you need me to research anything," Lois added quickly before calling her niece and saying her dad was on the phone.

A moment later Casey had the phone and she grinned into the receiver, "dad!"

Oliver held his breath for a moment. "Hey, Case. Havin' fun?"

"Yeah! We went to the beach all day today and Mia taught me how to surf, well, kinda. I was just laying on the board. But she told me that we can go again tomorrow and again after school and she can teach me to be as good as she is and then we came back and now aunt Lois ordered pizza but Mia had to leave but she said she would try and come back later so we can all watch a movie and I think I wanna watch Harry Potter but I don't know which one yet!" She told him, speaking very quickly and without taking breaks to breathe.

He couldn't help but smile at her excited chatter. It was how she talked when she was happy or enthusiastic about something. Yet another thing she'd inherited from her mother. "I thought the fourth one was your favorite," he said, raising his eyebrows a little.

"Yeah, because of the Triwizard Tournament _but_ I really like it when they are fighting Umbridge in the fifth one too because she'd so nasty like my math teacher!" She told him, "I think I will watch one of them with aunt Lois and Mia tonight and then I can watch the other one with you tomorrow." She told him.

He hesitated for a moment. "Sounds like a plan, Kiddo," he answered, shutting his eyes. "Are you guys going to stay up all night and do the whole truth or dare thing?" he teased.

" _Well_ ," she grinned, "if aunt Lois can keep up with me..."

"Well, if anyone can, it's Aunt Lois. Or Mia." He shook his head with faint amusement.

Casey grinned more, " _maaaybe_." She paused, "are you still working, dad?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm just taking a short break," he said softly. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," she told him, her voice lower than before and less enthusiastic, "what time is it there?"

Oliver glanced at his watch. "Almost eight p.m.," he told her, his chest tightening at the way her voice dropped.

Casey paused for a moment, "you have to work tomorrow?"

Guilt washed over him. "For awhile. I'm still planning to come home, though."

"But it's _Sunday _," she pouted.__

__"I know, Case," he whispered. "But what I'm doing...it's really important."_ _

__She sighed and nodded, lowering her head, "okay."_ _

__"I love you. You know that, right?"_ _

__"I love you too, daddy." She said quietly, "I can still come with you next time, right?"_ _

__"Yeah, you can." Not that his word meant anything when it came down to it. He had, after all, broken promise after promise to her. He wondered why she didn't hate him. Feeling terrible, he rubbed a hand over his face. "And I'll bring you back a bunch of Chicago souvenirs."_ _

__"Okay," she told him, not particularly interested in the souvenirs, she had a bunch of those._ _

__"I'm sorry, Casey." He shut his eyes._ _

__Casey paused and frowned a little, "I can't come with you next time?"_ _

__"No, I mean...I'm sorry that I don't...that I'm not there more often," he said quietly. "It's not because I don't want to be."_ _

__"Then why aren't you?" She asked bluntly, walking over to the couch and sitting down on the floor behind it._ _

__He held his breath at that. "Because I..." _Am a terrible father_ , his brain supplied helpfully. "Case, there are things that I can't tell you right now. Big, important things that..." He shut his eyes. "That I'm trying to do for us. For you and me. For Aunt Lois." He swallowed hard. "And I hope more than anything that I can tell you soon. That I can explain it. That you'll understand."_ _

__"Why can't you tell me now!?" She said, angrier but scared._ _

__Oliver rubbed a hand over his face. "I just can't," he said quietly. "You'll have to trust me on this one."_ _

__She took a deep breath, "are you going to die like mom?" She asked finally, sniffing._ _

__His chest tightened. "What? No, Sweetheart. It's _nothing_ like that. It's nothing bad. I promise."_ _

__Casey sobbed against the phone, "promise," she whispered._ _

__His throat tightened. "I swear to you," he whispered. "I swear it."_ _

__Hugging her knees to her chest she sniffed and nodded, forgetting he couldn't see her, "promise you'll come home tomorrow?" She sobbed._ _

__"I'll be home tomorrow," he promised, shutting his eyes tightly._ _

__"Okay," she whispered._ _

__"I love you, Casey. I'll see you tomorrow." Even if he had to get Clark or Bart to bring him back to the city while she was at school the next day._ _

__"I love you too, daddy," she sniffed._ _

__"We'll bake cookies and watch Harry Potter tomorrow, okay?" His voice was quiet, but filled with resolve. "Just you and me."_ _

__"Okay," she said again, "I think aunt Lois is looking for me," she whispered quietly, sobbing slightly._ _

__He swallowed hard. "All right. All right, I'll uh--I'll let you get back to her then."_ _

__"Night, daddy," she told him before hanging up._ _

__Oliver flinched at the sound of the line going dead. "Goodnight," he whispered._ _


	5. Chapter 5

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

Laura had spent all of last night and all of this morning reading. She was pretty sure she had read every article and blog and story ever written about the Queens, Green Arrow and Superman. She had read all about Chloe Queen and Chloe Sullivan, she had read her high school articles, she had seen her pictures and read about her past. She had also researched herself and although there were very few hits about _her_ and not other Laura Greens, there hadn't been a single article on her parents, on their tragic deaths.

Even her best friend growing up, Ella Clark, wasn't anywhere to be found. Apparently Chloe's best friend growing up however had been called _Clark_ Kent. And Oliver Queen's mother was named _Laura_ and it was common knowledge that he was the _Green_ Arrow.

There were too many coincidences for her to ignore anymore so around three in the afternoon, she washed her face and pulled herself together then called her supposed husband. She couldn't deal with all of this on her own, that much was obvious.

Oliver had just finished packing his suitcase when his phone rang. He dove across the bed to grab it, not even looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

She didn't say anything for a moment, just stayed stilled then slowly let out her breath, "Oliver? It's Laura."

He held his breath for a few seconds, nodding even though she couldn't see him. "Hi," he said softly.

"Hi." She sighed softly, not sure what to say next.

Oliver hesitated a moment. "Are you all right?" he asked quietly.

"I guess..." she breathed, rubbing her free hand over her face, "can we meet somewhere?"

"Yeah, of course," he whispered. "Wherever you want."

"Now?" Laura said, trying not to sound desperate but wincing as she did just that.

"Just tell me where and I'll be there. Now's fine," he said gently.

"Eleven fifteen, Parkway drive." She said, wincing again, "I figured it'd be better if we didn't talk in public."

"All right." He jotted the address down on his hand. "I'm on my way."

"Okay," Laura breathed, nodding to herself, "I'll see you when you get here."

"Okay. See you soon." He reluctantly hung up the telephone and headed for the door without a second thought. He hailed a cab and made it to the address she'd given him in less than twenty minutes. He knocked on the door, holding his breath as his heart beat quickly in his chest.

Laura looked around the apartment for a moment and sighed. She had managed to pick up most of the clutter, but it was still messy. Shaking her head, she headed for the door and opened a moment later.

Oliver gazed at her as she opened the door. "Hi."

"Come in," she breathed, stepping aside and making room for him.

Nodding, he stepped inside and glanced around the small studio apartment, holding his breath for a moment. It was even smaller than her apartment at the Talon had been years ago. He turned to face her, watching her uncertainly.

"I..." she paused, "I've been reading." She said, watching him closely once she had closed the door.

"I figured," he admitted, searching her eyes.

She sighed softly, "I guess now I know who Superman and Green Arrow are at least."

"Did it answer anymore of your questions?" he asked softly. "Or did it just make a lot of new ones for you?"

"It made me get a better sense of who you are," she told him, walking over to the couch and sitting down, "and who I'm supposed to be."

Oliver swallowed hard, but remained standing by the door. "I see," he murmured.

"I couldn't find anything on my parents," she said, looking down at the floor.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, a pained expression on his face. "I can...sort of imagine what that's like."

"Because of your parents?" She asked, still not looking at him.

"Yes." He reached up, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't say that I understand, because...I don't," he whispered. "I haven't uh--haven't gone through this before. What you're going through."

"I don't think many people have," she snorted humorlessly.

He bit his lower lip and looked at the floor. "No. Probably not."

Laura looked over at him and frowned, shaking her head, "sorry, you should have a seat."

Oliver glanced around, then slowly moved over to sit down in the arm chair by the sofa. "What can I do for you?" he asked quietly.

"Just... help me figure out why this happened," she told him, resting her elbows on her knees, "and help me figure out what to do."

His chest tightened at that. "The first one might be easier to figure out. And honestly..." He shut his eyes for a moment. "That second thing. I have a pretty large bias there."

Laura sighed softly and looked down once more, "I know you do but... everything I know is here. I've never been to California."

He was quiet for a moment. "We could change that. Even if it's only for a few days."

She swallowed hard and kept her eyes on the wall for a moment. She didn't really have any friends here right now and she didn't want to risk being away from apparently the one person who was willing to tell her the truth, but she barely knew him, "I don't wanna stay with you."

Even though he knew she didn't mean that personally, it stung anyway. But he ignored that, and nodded. "I'll pay for a room at any hotel you're comfortable in. Or if you decide you like it or...want to stay longer, an apartment." He looked down at his hands.

"Okay," Laura said quietly, rubbing her hands over her face and leaning back against the couch, she didn't exactly love her life before he showed up in the coffee shop the previous day but it was definitely simpler than this, "tell me everything I need to know then, about who is in Star City and who I'll meet."

He drew in a breath and looked over at her. "A cousin. Her name is Lois Lane," he told her quietly. "But even though she's your cousin, the two of you were always a lot more like sisters. You told each other everything most of the time. You guys have always been really protective of each other. She doesn't live in Star City, but she's there right now. Other than me, she's the only person who really held out hope that you weren't...gone."

"The Daily Planet reporter?" She asked. Most of the articles on Superman and even some on Green Arrow had been written by Lois Lane.

He nodded slightly. "Yeah."

"I guess that makes sense since she wrote a bunch of articles on you and your company," she told him quietly, looking down at her lap.

Oliver gazed at her. "There's also Mia Dearden," he said after a moment. "She's not actually blood related to either of us, but she's been amazing and she's always there when you need her to be."

"Who is she?" She asked, frowning a little and finally turning to look at him. That name hadn't come up anywhere.

"Someone I helped out years ago, when we all lived in Kansas," he said softly. "She's sort of works with me. When I'm out as Green Arrow."

"Oh," Laura nodded, sighing deeply once more, it was overwhelming enough to hear she was someone else entirely but to hear that superheroes were real and she apparently knew at least some of them was making it even more mind-blowing, "so there are others."

"Quite a few," he confirmed, watching her carefully.

"Did she know them?" She asked quietly, knowing the answer already.

His chest tightened a little. "Did Chloe know them?" he asked softly, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, she did. She was on the team."

Laura stilled at that, arching her eyebrows a little as she turned slightly on the couch to face him, "the team?" She echoed.

"Sort of a league filled with people who do what we did," he told her, watching her, trying not to get his hopes up at the curious expression she was giving him. "The whole hero thing."

She blinked and shook her head a little, "you're telling me that," she paused for a breath, "this person I'm supposed to be was not only married to a superhero but she was part of a whole league of them?"

"I'm--not a superhero. I don't have any powers. I'm just skilled with a bow," he said quietly. "But yes. She was one of the original members of the team, back when we first got started together."

Laura blew out a breath and shook her head, rubbing her hands over her face, "you said your life was crazy, you weren't kidding."

"No, I wasn't," he whispered.

She glanced over at him and remained quiet for a long moment then stood up, "do you want something to drink?" She offered.

"I'm all right," he assured her, shaking his head a little.

Laura nodded and walked into the kitchen, which was just an extension of the living room and grabbing a glass bottle of iced tea from the fridge, opening it and drinking slowly. She needed a break from this as she tried to process the information.

Oliver shut his eyes as she headed toward the kitchen portion of the apartment, and he rubbed his hands tiredly over his eyes. He was used to not sleeping--insomnia had been his long-time companion since Chloe had been gone--but now he just felt more exhausted than usual.

Once she was halfway through her tea, she came back to the couch and sat back down, "when are you leaving Chicago?"

He bit his lower lip, glancing up at her. "I have to leave today," he admitted, almost inaudibly. "I have things back home that I have to attend to." He hesitated. "I don't want to leave, but..."

"Today?" She echoed, her eyes widening a little and she suddenly felt a lot more unsettled.

He held his breath as he gazed at her. "Do you need me to stay longer?" he asked uncertainly, his stomach clenching at the look in her eyes.

"I don't... know." Laura swallowed hard and shook her head, looking down again, "I don't really know anyone here but I don't know who to trust anymore."

Oliver swallowed hard, looking down, as well. "I can be back here tomorrow," he said softly.

"I don't want to keep you from your life," she admitted quietly, wrapping both hands around the bottle, her stomach clenching.

"Tomorrow isn't a problem," he whispered. "And when you're ready, we can make arrangements for you to come to California."

She sighed deeply, nodding slightly, not sure what to do but she was suddenly very afraid of being left in the city alone, "what if the people who did this find me again?"

His chest tightened at that, because he knew that it was a strong possibility. Especially if they somehow found out that he'd found her. "I could send someone here. To keep an eye on things. If you want me to." He hesitated. "Or you could come with me today."

Laura pursed her lips together, she didn't know which one was worse: stay and risk being in danger and having her memory messed with again or leaving to a completely different state with a man she had known for, literally twenty-four hours.

"If it's the private jet thing that's worrying you, I can get you a commercial flight," he whispered. "Whatever makes you feel comfortable." 

She paused at that and blinked a couple of times, "you own a private jet?"

Oh. A faint smile touched his mouth. "Yeah. I do a lot of business around the world."

Private jets, superheroes, billionaires, family members and apparently a guy who cared enough about her to not give up on her even though she was supposed to be dead for three years. Whatever life she supposedly had before this was definitely completely different than what she was used to. Living in a tiny apartment, working from home with no social life to speak of. Pursing her lips together, she looked down at her bottle again, her eyes tearing up, "makes sense."

The sight of her tears made him feel like he'd been kicked in the gut. "I know this is all so overwhelming. I'm _sorry_ ," he whispered.

Nodding slightly, she took a long sip of her tea to try and calm herself down, she'd cried plenty the previous night, she thought she had let it all out, but apparently not and the last thing she wanted was to break down in front of him, "do you know how to fix it?"

At that, he had to blink rapidly to avoid his own meltdown. "If I did, I'd do it in a heartbeat, no matter what."

Laura held her breath then let it out slowly, shaking her head, "so even if I go to California, there is nothing you can do."

"It may trigger memories," he said softly. "Being around things and people that you used to know. And there's a doctor that I keep on retainer for the league. He's the one who sent Chloe's medical files yesterday. I can't make any promises or guarantees, no." He paused. "Except that I'll do everything I can to make sure you're safe."

She glanced over at him and watched him for a long moment then swallowed hard and nodded slightly, her chest tight with fear, "what time are you leaving?"

Oliver bit his lip, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Soon. Within a couple hours." 

"And if I get there and I decide I don't want to stay?" She asked, her stomach also tight.

His stomach tightened as well. "Then I'll provide you with transportation to get back here if that's what you choose to do." 

Swallowing hard, she rubbed a hand over her face then looked over at him out of the corner of her eyes, "okay."

He held his breath at that, looking over at her. "Okay to today?"

Laura nodded, pulling her hair behind her ear to look better at him.

"Okay," he whispered. "Are you comfortable with the idea of a ride on a private jet? Or would you feel more safe on a commercial flight?"

"Yeah," she said with a shrug, "that's-- fine." She told him. Compared to the fact that she was leaving everything she thought she knew behind, the plane was the least of her worries.

"All right. How much time will you need to get ready?" His heart was beginning to beat faster in his chest.

"I'll just... pack some clothes and things." She told him, "about an hour?" 

"Okay. Sounds good. I'm already packed back at my hotel. I'll just go get my things and meet you back here?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding a little before standing up, "okay."

Oliver took a deep breath. "I'll see you shortly then," he whispered, turning and heading for the door.

Laura nodded and followed him to the door, waiting until he was outside before closing it and double locking it. She had to pack and get ready and the only other thing she could do now was hope she was making the right decision.

* * *

Oliver offered 'Laura' a soft, hesitant smile as he took her luggage from her, nodding toward the stairs that led to the inside of his private jet. The whole time he'd been gone from her apartment, he'd been afraid he'd come back to find she'd either changed her mind, or vanished. Fortunately, neither had been the case. "You okay?" he asked gently after they'd boarded and he'd secured their things in the overhead compartments.

She nodded as she looked around the small but very comfortable looking plane. After considering all the seats available, she took the one on the right and placed her laptop bag under it, "how long is the flight?" 

"Just a couple of hours," he assured her. "Do you want something to drink? Or to eat? I keep the jet fully stocked."

Laura shook her head and fastened her seatbelt before glancing at him, "I don't remember ever flying before."

He smiled faintly even though his eyes were sad. "You--Chloe traveled a lot covering assignments for the Register. And sometimes she came with me when I was going away on business."

She shifted uncomfortably on the seat for a moment before settling, "and she didn't hate it or was afraid of it or anything?"

"She wasn't really afraid of much," he told her quietly. "Though she wasn't fond of snakes."

"I don't think anyone with some sense in them is exactly 'fond of snakes'." She pointed out, glancing out of the window.

"Well, you won't have to worry about them on _this_ plane," he said with a small smile, buckling his own seatbelt.

Laura looked over at him and arched an eyebrow, completely missing the reference.

He hesitated, shaking his head. "A really lame movie from a few years back."

"Oh," she nodded and took a deep breath, "I must have missed it."

"It's okay," he murmured. "It was terrible anyway."

She sighed softly and nodded, leaning back against her seat, "what else can you tell me?"

"Anything you want to know," he said without hesitation, gazing at her. "I'm not going to keep secrets from you."

"That's the thing," she said quietly, "I don't know what to ask about. I read a bunch of articles on you and Chloe and I read some of the articles she wrote in high school..." 

He was quiet for a moment. "I assume you read about Casey?" He held his breath.

"Casey?" She asked, arching her eyebrows and looking at him, not liking his expression.

 _Crap._ He hesitated a moment, looking down at his hands. Then he shifted, pulling out his wallet, and removing her most recent school picture. He unfastened his safety belt and moved to sit down beside her, holding the picture out to her.

Laura stared at him while he moved then took the picture carefully, looking down at it and holding her breath. A little girl with long blond hair and brown eyes, she wasn't smiling, she was smirking and she definitely looked like she was up to no good. Her stomach clenched as she stared at the image for a long moment, in silence. "Who is she?"

"She's our daughter," he said very softly.

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, dropping her hand to her lap but still holding on to the picture. She assumed as much but hearing the confirmation made a big difference, "how old is she?" She whispered, her voice wavering.

"Eight," he whispered back, hesitantly touching her hand.

Laura opened her eyes and looked down at his hand on top of hers but didn't pull her hand away, "what does she know?"

Oliver looked at the picture. "She thinks that her mother died three years ago in an explosion."

"Don't--" she paused, swallowing hard, "don't tell her anything."

"I wasn't going to," he admitted softly. "I'm afraid that it would...confuse her. And hurt her that..." He chewed the inside of his cheek. "That Chloe doesn't remember her."

She nodded slightly, looking down at the picture in silence for a moment longer then sighing deeply, "what is she like?"

A faint, albeit genuine smile touched his mouth. "Mischievous. A trouble-maker." He glanced at her sideways, his eyes a little brighter than before. "Which came from Chloe and I both, admittedly. She's curious. Always asking questions. Smart. Really smart. That's...something she definitely inherited from her mother." He exhaled a little. "Sometimes it feels like she's eight going on eighteen."

Laura turned to look at him and she couldn't help but smile slightly at the look on his face, "she sounds like a handful."

He chuckled softly. "That's putting it lightly. But she's an amazing kid."

She nodded a little and took a deep breath, "is she dealing okay with everything?"

His smile faded a little. "She misses her mom. A lot," he said quietly. "But she's strong."

Laura's face fell and she nodded a little, looking down at the picture once more, her chest even tighter than before but now she had even more reasons to do whatever she had to to remember.

The look on her face was one he'd seen on Chloe's so many times. He squeezed her hand gently, falling silent.

She didn't say anything for a long moment, lost in thought about what she could do to force herself to remember, "how old am I?" She asked, realizing she didn't even know what her real age was supposed to be.

Oliver wanted to link his fingers with hers, but didn't want to make her uncomfortable with the intimacy. "Thirty-three," he said quietly.

Laura nodded a little glancing out the window, they had already taken off and she had barely noticed, she'd been afraid it'd freak her out, but now she felt like she had made the right decision, coming with him. "What else should I know about Chloe?"

There were so many things, he didn't know where to begin. He unfastened his seatbelt. "She was the single most determined woman I've ever met, although her cousin's a close second," he said with a faint smile, rising to his feet. "Are you sure you don't want something to drink?" he asked, heading toward the curtained area. 

"Maybe some water?" She asked, arching her eyebrows and turning to look at him. "What else?"

"Water? Not coffee?" he asked uncertainly. "I have literally twelve different flavors. Watchtower always had to have good coffee," he added.

She started to smile then her expression turned blank, she arched her eyebrows slowly and and stood up.

Oliver glanced at her, his eyebrows furrowing. "I can get it if you want some. I know there's hazelnut and caramel and--"

Laura let go of the picture, letting it drop unceremoniously to the floor and started walking slowly toward him, her eyes narrowing as a smirk appeared on her lips.

The question died on his lips as he watched her uncertainly. "Laura?"

Biting down on her bottom lip, she smiled a little more at him, then, without warning, turned sideways and kicked him in the stomach as hard as she could.

Not only did the movement catch him off guard, it sent him sailing back and into the tiny food area where he hit the floor hard, wincing and then staring up at her with wide eyes. "What the--"

Without a word, she kicked him again, pressing the top of her foot against his ribs with full force. "You're dead."


	6. Chapter 6

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

  


Oliver rolled beneath her, grabbing her leg in a firm grasp and moving quickly to catch her before she could hit the ground. "What the hell are you _doing_?" he demanded, shaking his head as he gripped onto her arms.

Laura struggled, trying to get him to release her, "what I'm supposed to," she said, shifting on top of him as she tried to free herself or lift her leg up high enough to connect her knee with his crotch.

He didn't let go of her as her as he rolled them so he was on his side, blocking her knee with his own as he brought them up closer to him. "According to _who_?"

She laughed at the question, twisting her arm and pressing her elbow at his side, "I'm not stupid."

"You're anything but," he agreed, grimacing as her elbow pressed into his ribcage right where she'd kicked him. "That doesn't mean you're not someone's puppet." He rolled again, putting her beneath him and holding onto her tightly, pressing her arms against the floor and his legs against hers.

Her eyes narrowed at his words but at his position, she smirked slowly, "I wonder how Casey will react to the news that her daddy is a rapist."

Oliver glared at her. "Trust me when I say right now that's the _last_ thing on my mind."

"It doesn't matter if it's true." She said, lifting her head and running her tongue over his lips.

He jerked away from her, releasing her from his grip and getting to his feet. "Who are you working for?"

She got to her feet instantly too and kept her distance for the time being, "are you sure you're going to waste the opportunity? How long as it been? Three years plus? You miss her. You miss _me_."

" _You_ aren't her," he informed her coldly, keeping his eyes on her warily, his jaw tightening.

"Oh, but I am." She told him, moving slowly toward him once more, "every inch of my body is the exact same body you have been dreaming of all this time, you can kiss me again, just like you used to."

His chest tightened at her words. "No," he said firmly. "That's not going to happen. Not like this."

"But it's your last chance," she told him, walking up to him and running her fingers over his cheek, "even if you leave this plane, you won't make it back home."

He gripped her wrist, pulling it away from his face. "Don't be so sure about that."

"I _am_ sure." She said, smirking as her eyes narrowed once more, "and don't worry about Casey and Lois. They have been taken care of."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Maybe I will let you make it back home..." she told him, stepping closer, "so you can see with your own eyes how it's been redecorated. I do hope you like red."

Without warning, he spun her around, her wrist still in his grasp as he pulled her against him, his other arm tight around her waist to hold her in place, "Start talking," he ordered. "Who are you working for?" 

Laura hadn't expected this but she just pushed herself backward, letting all her weight fall on him.

He took a single step back, keeping his balance easily. "Nice try, Chloe. Unfortunately for you, you're still too small for that trick."

Her jaw clenched and she stopped struggling for just a second before she started kicking him, "let go of me!"

He winced as her heel connected with his knee, but he only tightened his grip around her. "Not going to happen."

Tightening her jaw even more, she twisted, tugging her arm as hard as she could from his grip, causing her shoulder to pop out of place, she cried out at the pain, but it was exactly what she'd been hoping for.

"Chloe?" He loosened his grip on her wrist a little, worry replacing the anger there.

The second he loosened his grip on her she turned around, knee connecting with his crotch the same second her fist connected with his stomach. 

He groaned, dropping instantly to the floor, uttering a string of curses.

She didn't stop once he was down, kicking his back, ribs and hips fast and hard repeatedly.

Oliver hated what he was about to do, but he felt he had no options left. He grabbed onto her leg, twisting it beneath her and tugging hard.

Laura lost her balance and as she tried to hold on to one of the seats on her way down, it only caused her to hit the temple against one of the small tables hard. A small cut opened against her skin and by the time she hit the ground, she was unconscious.

He drew in a shuddering breath as he crawled over to where she lay on the floor, wincing as he saw the blood on her face. He quickly reached out and felt her throat for her pulse, relieved that it was strong and steady. He shut his eyes for a moment, exhaling and then shifting, pulling her into his arms and cradling her against his chest gently, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "It's gonna be okay," he whispered.

He just wasn't sure _how_.

* * *

When Laura woke up, her head was pounding, her shoulder was burning and her entire body was sore. She shifted on the bed and frowned, groaning a little as the movement made everything hurt more.

Oliver sat forward in his chair a little, his movements as pained as hers. "Are you done trying to kill me?" he asked, devoid of humor.

She blinked her eyes open and lifted her good hand to her head as the light made it hurt more, "w-what happened?"

He studied her for a moment, then blew out a breath. "One minute we were talking, and the next you came after me like you were auditioning for a role as my personal executioner," he informed her.

Laura frowned at that and shook her head slightly, confusion clear on her face, "what are you talking about?"

"You don't remember," he murmured, staring at her.

She started to shake her head then winced again, "ow," she murmured.

He winced, as well. "Sorry about your head," he whispered.

"We fought?" She asked hazily, moving her hand to her shoulder and touching it gingerly.

Oliver hesitated a moment, then pulled up his shirt, revealing the already bruised skin. "You could say that. For the record, you won."

Her eyes widened as she saw the bruise and she frowned, fear starting to appear in her eyes, "I can't fight."

He was fairly certain he had a cracked rib or two that would speak differently to her protest, but he didn't voice that thought, not wanting to upset her anymore than she already was. "It was like someone had you under their control," he said quietly.

Laura's eyes definitely widened, definitely with fear this time, "like someone was making me attack you?"

"Maybe," he said, his voice still soft. "It was like someone flipped a switch. One minute you were you and the next you were like a ninja." He tried for a lighter, teasing tone to try and ease the obvious fear.

She swallowed hard, looking at him for a moment as her stomach turned and her chest tightened, "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It wasn't you," he murmured. He just wasn't sure _who_ it was. Or more precisely, who'd caused it.

Wincing with pain, Laura pushed herself into a sitting position on the narrow airplane bed, "I should stay away, until you figure out."

"The doctor I have on staff is going to meet us at the airport," he told her, watching her. "We'll be landing shortly." He rose to his feet.

Laura swallowed hard, her eyes tearing up slightly both from the pain and from the fear, she had no idea what had just happened, but worse than that, she had no idea what she could possibly have done in all those three years she was gone.

He returned to her side a moment later, holding an ice pack out as he hesitantly sat down on the edge of the bed. "Here."

She looked over at him and took the pack, holding her breath as she pressed it against her shoulder then letting it out slowly as she looked down again, feeling ashamed even though she couldn't remember hitting him at all.

"Look at me," he whispered, his voice barely audible.

Frowning slightly, she turned her head toward him and glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"We're gonna get to the bottom of this. We'll get answers. I promise," he whispered.

She swallowed hard once again and held her breath, nodding slightly as her eyes teared up more, "thank you," she murmured. 

His chest tightened and he hesitantly held his hand out toward her, falling silent.

Laura looked down at his hand for a moment then placed the ice pack on the bed and took his hand in hers, sniffing quietly as tears ran down her face.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "We'll figure out how to fix things."

"Okay," she murmured, sighing deeply and squeezing his hand, "I just don't want to hurt anyone."

"I know," he whispered.

"Mr. Queen," a voice said over the intercom. "We're going to be landing in the next five minutes."

He drew in a breath and glanced at Chloe. "Are you okay to move? We should put seatbelts on."

Nodding, she took a deep breath and picked up the ice pack once more, reluctantly letting go of his hand then moving back to her seat without a word. She had never been so scared in her life before that she remembered, the sooner they got there the sooner they would hopefully get answers.

* * *

Just a few moments later they had landed and on her part, Laura was glad to be back on the ground, both because she'd been growing more and more anxious the last few moments of the trip and because she wanted Oliver's doctor friend to make sure he was okay. As far as she knew she wasn't a violent person at all, she had never taken a single class on self-defense in her life but apparently she was good enough at fighting to actually hurt Green Arrow.

She was sure he had held back because he didn't want to hurt her, but still, it was scary to think about what she was capable of.

"Come on," he said quietly, retrieving her things from the luggage compartment and carrying them toward the stairs.

Laura lifted a hand to her shoulder and followed him, keeping her head down as she got out of the plane with her laptop bag and purse both hanging from her good arm.

He looked around, then raised his hand, waving at Emil, who was standing by the car.

She glanced at Oliver then at the man who she assumed was the doctor and held her breath, wishing now that she had asked if she was supposed to know the man.

Emil just stared at her for a moment even as he waved back at Oliver and reached to help him with the luggage since he knew they were both hurt.

"Laura, this is Dr. Emil Hamilton," he said quietly, offering the other man a small smile and letting him take one of the suitcases. "Emil...this is Laura." His chest tightened a little. 

The doctor offered her a smile even though his eyes were wide, "nice to see you," he said.

With a nod, she tried for a smile but didn't quite manage it, it looked like he knew Chloe if the way he was staring at her was anything to go by. 

"She may have a concussion," he told Emil with a worried look. "And her shoulder seems to be injured."

Laura's eyes widened a little and she shook her head, "no, I'm... fine compared to him," she said worriedly, glancing at Oliver.

Emil smiled a little and nodded, "let's get back to the lab, I'll take a look at both of you."

Oliver glanced at her, as well, a very faint smile on his lips. "Come on," he whispered, reaching out and opening the door for her.

She looked at him for a moment then got into the car without a word, anxious to make sure he was okay.

The worry in her eyes made his chest tighten at its familiarity and he slid into the seat beside her, offering her a reassuring look. "It's all right. I've had a lot worse, believe me."

"Maybe," she said quietly, "but I've never done something like that to anyone before, that I remember anyway."

He reached for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Like I said before, you weren't yourself."

Laura nodded and wrapped her fingers around his hand as she turned to look out the window, a worried frown on her face but she remained quiet.

"Remind me to tell you the story about the time I got thrown through a window," he told her, rubbing his thumb lightly over the back of her hand.

Laura's eyes widened as she turned to look at Oliver again.

Emil smirked at that and adjusted his glasses, "will we be running the other tests today too or do you want to wait until tomorrow for those?"

He smiled gently at her, then glanced up toward the front seat where Emil was behind the wheel of the car. "It's up to Laura. It's been a pretty long day."

"No," she said to Oliver, shaking her head then glancing at the doctor, "everything you can do today, just... get it over with."

He resisted the urge to lean over and kiss her temple, and simply nodded. "All right."

Laura sighed deeply and nodded, "I don't want to risk hurting anyone else."

"I'll stay with you," he said quietly. "If you want."

She looked down and nodded a little then paused and looked at him, "you said you had things to take care of."

 _Casey._ He winced and closed his eyes. "I promised Casey I'd be home today," he admitted.

Her chest tightened and she held her breath then nodded, "then you should go home."

"I don't want to leave you when you don't know anyone here but me," he whispered.

"I'll stay with her," Emil offered, glancing at them through the mirror.

Laura swallowed and nodded, "I'll-- I'll be okay." She whispered, no conviction at all in her voice.

He felt his chest tighten at the uncertainty in her voice. "What if I send Lois?"

"Oh," her stomach clenched a little more with nerves, "I... if you think that's a good idea."

"No, it's up to you," he whispered. "Like I said, if you're not comfortable with something, all you have to do is tell me, and we'll come up with another solution."

"I don't know her," Laura murmured, looking at him with big eyes, "but if you think she'll be good company, it's okay."

"I just don't want you to be alone or uncomfortable," he whispered. "Lois is...great but she can be kinda larger than life." He squeezed her hand.

She sighed softly and shrugged slightly, "I don't know," she said sincerely. She didn't know the doctor or her supposed cousin and she didn't want Oliver to leave either but she wasn't going to keep him from his daughter.

He was quiet for a moment. "I'll talk to Lois," he said quietly.

Laura pursed her lips together and nodded, looking at him for a moment before looking out the window again, her fingers still wrapped around his.

"It's gonna be okay," he murmured.

She took a deep breath and kept her eyes out the window, swallowing hard and pursing her lips together. She really hoped he was right.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

  


Oliver watched as Lois headed out the door, then he stepped farther into the apartment, glancing around. "Case? I'm home." He was greeted by silence. Right. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, rubbing the back of his neck as he headed down the hallway to her bedroom, knocking softly on the half-open door.

Casey heard him but didn't turn around, she was standing a couple feet away from the TV with the video game controller in her hands, shooting at alien spaceships with an angry look on her face.

He watched her for a couple of moments, then looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry I didn't get home sooner," he said quietly.

She shrugged and still didn't look at him, angling the controller and hitting the buttons harder.

"Casey." His voice was soft.

With a sigh she paused the game but still didn't look at him.

He stepped into her room, his chest tightening. "It was easier when you were little," he whispered. "You missed me when I was away and you were always excited to see me when I came back." He sat down on the edge of her bed, looking down at his hands.

"I'm not _little_ anymore." She said, obviously irritated.

"No. You're not." He gazed at her silently.

Casey turned to look at him, "you're not even taking me with you next time you leave either, _are you_?"

"I'm not planning on leaving again," he said softly.

"Liar." She said, her eyes tearing up.

His chest tightened. "I'm not lying," he whispered, shaking his head. "I don't have any plans to leave the city again, Casey."

"You lie all the time." She pointed out bluntly, dropping her controller on the bed and crossing her arms over her chest.

Oliver closed his eyes, bowing his head. "I do, don't I?" he murmured.

She nodded, frowning disapprovingly at him.

He drew in a breath and looked up at her, looking for all the world like an eight-year old version of her mother. He slid off her bed slowly so he was sitting on the floor. "I don't mean to," he said honestly, his voice soft. "It's not intentional. But things happen that...I have to be somewhere else sometimes, Casey," he whispered. "Even if I'd much rather be here with you."

"All the time!" She corrected him, starting to cry.

"That's not true," he said quietly, shaking his head. "Not all the time. I've been at every karate tournament you've ever had. I've been at most of the lessons, too. I've never missed a school play or a take-your-dad to show and tell." His own eyes were watery. "I know I've missed a lot, Casey. But I'm not _always_ gone."

"Not yet!" She accused, sniffing, "Veronica's dad did too and then he got a new girlfriend and left and you're leaving too!"

He stared at her, mouth slightly agape. "What are you talking about?"

"Mia said that Dinah likes you and I don't _want_ her to be your girlfriend and I don't _want_ her to be my mom! I don't want another mom _ever_!" She said angrily, choking slightly on her last word with a sob.

 _Dinah_? His eyebrows furrowed with real confusion. "Casey...look I don't know what Mia is talking about, but Dinah is just a friend. That's all she's _ever_ been."

Casey sobbed loudly and shook her head again, arms still crossed tightly over her chest as she shook her head.

"Look at me," he whispered. "Casey, _look_ at me."

She closed her eyes stubbornly and shook her head.

He reached out and put his hands on her arms. "Casey. Regardless of how Dinah may or may not feel about me? I don't share those feelings. Because there will never be another woman that I love the way I love your mom," he whispered, his voice cracking. " _Ever_."

Casey didn't move for a long moment, with another sob she slowly opened her wet eyes to look at him, "what if you're lying?" She sniffed.

His chest tightened to the point that it actually hurt to breathe. "No one can ever replace her," he whispered, a tear trickling down his own cheek as he reached up to touch her cheek and wipe away one of her tears.

She sobbed again, her whole body shaking with it, "pr-promise," she said quietly.

He pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. "I promise, Casey. I swear it," he whispered, shutting his eyes tightly.

Casey hugged him back instantly, crawling on his lap and starting to cry harder again.

He rested his chin atop her head, gently rocking her back and forth in his arms. "Everything's gonna be okay," he murmured.

* * *

Mia had run into Lois as she was leaving the apartment and as she made her way in, she heard the yelling between father and daughter, she waited until things calmed down and moved to sit in the living room where she planned on staying until Oliver got back.

He shut the door behind him quietly so as not to wake Casey from the sleep she'd finally drifted into. Looking exhausted, he emerged from the hallway, a little surprised to see Mia there on the sofa. "Hey," he said, guardedly.

"Hey," she greeted, shifting on the couch and looking over at him, "I... heard," she said, wincing, "sorry."

He tried to smile, but just couldn't muster up the energy to pull it off. "You want some coffee?" he asked, rubbing a hand over his face and looking toward the kitchen.

"I'm good," she told him, looking at him for a moment, "how are you?"

"Other than a terrible father? I'm great," he said dully, heading into the kitchen and turning on the coffee pot to brew. He stared at it blankly.

Mia sighed and stood up, shaking her head, "you're not a terrible father, Ollie, mine was." She pointed out, "you don't even rank in the 'kind of not great' category."

He shut his eyes. "I'm not here for her when she needs me." His voice was thick. "Lois said as much herself."

"You were trying to bring your family back together," Mia told him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "and you _found_ her, you won't have to break your promises to Casey again."

His chest tightened at that. "And what if it still doesn't work? She doesn't remember _anything_ , Mia."

"She can relearn things, she did come back with you, didn't she?"

Oliver swallowed hard, not opening his eyes. "Yeah."

"Hard part is over," Mia told him, "she's _alive_ ," something she didn't believe in until she got the call from Lois the previous night, "and she's healthy. You know aliens and mutants, at least one of them will figure things out."

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and he blew out a breath. "She's alive," he whispered, sounding awed about that even though he _had_ believed it all along.

Mia smiled and nodded, "yeah and not only do you get her back, but you get to rub it in everyone's faces about how you were right and they were wrong."

"I don't care about that," he said softly, turning to look at her. "All that matters is she's back." He hesitated, looking down. "But there's something wrong."

"You mean besides her lack of memory?" Mia asked with a frown.

"Mia, whoever blew up that building that..." He drew in a breath, looking up at her. "I think it was intentional. And I think they took Chloe, and I think they did something to her. Made her forget. And programmed her to be...someone else."

She frowned and shook her head, "but who?"

"She thinks her name is Laura." He paused. "Laura _Green_."

"Well, whoever picked that doesn't get an award for creativity," Mia said, frowning, "so what? They were leaving breadcrumbs, you found her, now we kick their asses, the end."

"Mia, she tried to kill me," he said quietly.

Now she was taking him a little more seriously, " _what_?"

"On the jet on the way here. We were talking and...then it was like she was some ninja assassin." He looked away.

"Then why did you you bring her back!?" She gasped, her eyes wide.

"Because she didn't know what she was doing, Mia. She's not herself. Someone's done _something_ to her. And we have to figure out who, and what, and how to fix it." He shook his head.

"Lois said she's at the labs," Mia told him, "so Emil is already trying to figure it out, right?"

"Yeah, he's working on it." He let out a breath, leaning back against the counter tiredly.

"Look, Ollie, I'll go on patrol soon, Lois is with Chloe, everything is under control. Why don't you get ready for bed and lay down with Casey for the night? You need to rest obviously and I bet she'd be happy to wake up with her dad around."

He hesitated for a moment. "You think?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, of course. She just misses you, she needs the reassurance you're sticking around," she told him, "keep your phone with you if there are _any_ problems I'll call but go spend some time with her."

He drew in a breath, nodding a little, then stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her silently.

Mia smiled a little and hugged him back, "you're an awesome dad," she told him, "and I'll help you figure out the rest."

He smiled faintly at that, nodding a little and letting go of her a moment later. He kissed her forehead. "Be careful out there."

"I always am," she told him, "call if you need anything, I'll be around otherwise."

Nodding a little, he headed for the hallway. "Hey, Mia?" He turned to glance at her once more. "Thank you."

"Anytime," she told him, smiling and making her way for the door.

He watched her go, a soft smile on his face, then he headed down the hall, taking a shower and changing into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt before making his way back to Casey's room. He gazed down at her for a long moment, then laid down beside her and shut his eyes, falling asleep in moments from sheer exhaustion, hoping the next day would be better.

* * *

Laura had spent what felt like hours in the examination room. The doctor had ran blood tests, cat scans and a bunch of other exams. She wasn't too bothered by it because she was really hoping he could give them some answers from all of that. She was, however, exhausted. He had given her some tylenol for the pain and her shoulder was back in place.

He told her he was going to send everything to be analyzed and told her where to find coffee, tea, water and snacks so she left the room, rubbing her hands over her face tiredly and starting down the hall.

Lois was coming down the hall from the opposite direction when she spotted her, freezing in place, her eyes wide. Laura didn't notice, she was too tired to pay attention to her surroundings, her head still trying to process everything that was going on.

"Hi," she blurted out, her heart beating fast in her chest.

Blinking a couple of times, Laura stilling and lifted her head, noticing the woman standing there, "hi." She answered, stopping herself from taking a step back and running in the opposite direction.

"I'm Lois." She hesitated a moment. "Laura, right?"

"Oh," she relaxed a little, letting out a breath and nodding, "I- yeah, I'm Laura," she told the other woman.

She held her breath for a moment, nodding, too. "Ollie said it would be okay if I came. He didn't want you to be alone. And...I wanted to be here."

Laura nodded and tried for a smile, "yeah, thank you for, hm wanting to come."

She offered the other woman a soft smile, wanting nothing more than to wrap her arms around her tightly. "You want to grab some coffee with me?"

Pausing, Laura arched her eyebrows at her and glanced over her shoulder where she had left the doctor before looking at Lois again, "in here, you mean?" She asked.

Nodding a little, she followed her gaze. "I guess I assumed that's where you were heading. Are you done with all the tests and stuff? We can always wait if you're not. I mean, it's not a big deal or anything." She paused, forcing herself to take a deep breath. "I'm rambling. I do that when I'm hyper or nervous."

She just stared at the other woman for a moment and a faint smile appeared on her face as she nodded slightly, "the doctor told me there was a break room down the hall, I was gonna go there," she admitted, "I don't want to leave here in case..." her expression grew serious, "in case I attack someone else again. I don't want to hurt you."

"Okay," Lois said without hesitation. "Let's grab some coffee then. I know the way to the break room."

Laura nodded slightly and wrapped her arms around herself, starting back down the hall with Lois.

"How are you feeling? Oliver said you were hurt." She glanced at her sideways, worry in her eyes.

"Better," she told her, wrinkling her nose a little, "I had a dislocated shoulder, I don't think I ever had that before."

Lois winced at that. "It's back in place now, though, right? And Emil gave you good drugs for the pain?"

"He did," Laura confirmed, "I'm okay now, just tired. I think Oliver was worse than me."

"Oliver was hurt?" She raised her eyebrows a little.

"He didn't tell you?" Laura's eyes widened as she looked up at the taller woman, wondering if she said too much.

She sighed a little, shaking her head. "No. But I think he was a little distracted."

"He had really bad bruises all over his torso," she lowered her voice and looked down guiltily, "and a cracked rib."

Lois' eyes widened a little at that. "Well, he'll be all right, Chl--Laura." She swallowed hard. "He's taken a lot worse."

"That's what he said," she breathed, not bothered by the near slip on her name, "I just can't remember what happened and I feel horrible for hurting him."

"Well, if it would make you feel any better, I can drop by and check on him after we get you settled at the hotel of your choosing."

Laura paused at that and looked over at Lois then nodded slightly, "if you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all," Lois assured her.

"Thank you," she said quietly, looking ahead again.

She was silent for a moment, then stepped into the lounge area where the coffee pot and vending machines were. "Come on in." She flipped on the light and headed for the coffee pot, turning it on.

Laura followed her in and looked around, nodding slightly. She was kind of starving but she was so tired she wasn't sure she wanted to bother eating.

Lois glanced back at her as she popped some coins into the vending machine, pushing the button for the little donuts. She picked it up and held it out to Chloe with raised eyebrows.

"Oh," she took the donuts and raised her eyebrows a little, "you didn't have to do that. Thank you." So she guessed she was going to be eating after all.  
She smiled a little. "When we were little, and you stayed with us, I always fixed donuts for breakfast. And for the record, my cooking skills still don't go beyond opening a box or sack of donuts."

Laura watched her for a moment then nodded, taking a seat and setting the donuts on the table, she couldn't help but smile a little, "Oliver told me you and Chloe were like sisters."

She nodded at that, watching her cousin carefully. "Yeah, we were," she agreed. "We were closer than I am to my actual sister."

"Do I--" she paused, "does Chloe have any siblings?" She asked, pursing her lips together.

"No," she said softly, sitting down across from her. "No siblings. But she does have me, and Lucy--my sister, who's...generally pretty absent. And my dad, who's a general. And her dad, of course. He's in Maine, working."

"And Oliver and Casey," Laura added, nodding slightly and looking down at the donuts. That was a lot more than she had, of course it was probably because she didn't actually exist.

"And a lot of good friends who are like family," Lois added, reaching out and opening the package for her without thinking about it.

"That sounds nice," she admitted then paused when she saw the wedding ring on Lois' finger, "who are you married to?"

"Clark Kent," she said with a soft smile. "He was Chloe's best friend since they were kids."

"Oh, I read a few articles he wrote," she admitted, "for the high school newspaper and so I guess both of you work at the Daily Planet?"

Lois nodded a little, offering her a smile. "We do. And...he's probably going to want to meet you soon. But I'll do my best to hold him off until you're ready for that."

Laura took a deep breath and nodded a little, shifting on her chair, "I just hate not knowing anything or anyone."

Her expression softened at that. "I'm sure you do," she murmured. "But you can ask me things, if you want. I'm glad to help out however I can."

"Oliver told me some things," she said, finally reaching for one of the small donuts, "mostly about you and himself and Casey and... Mia?" She said, not sure if that was the right name.

Lois nodded. "Yeah, Mia. She's sort of Ollie's adopted kid."

"Oh, he didn't put it that way," Laura said, her eyes widening a little.

"Well, she's not legally adopted or anything," she told her, taking one of the donuts and taking a bite. "But she's quite a bit younger than us, and...well, he helped her out of a bad situation _years_ ago and she moved with Chloe and Oliver when they got married and moved here to Star City. She has her own place and everything, but...I don't know. Casey thinks of her as an older sister, and seeing her interact with Ollie and even Chloe... she just feels more like she's another kid than a sidekick. If that makes sense." She was rambling again.

Laura stared at her for a moment then nodded slightly, "how old is she?" It looked like Oliver had left a lot out and seemed like Lois was more willing to be bluntly honest with her.

"Twenty-four," Lois told her, nibbling on the donut in her hand.

"Oh," she relaxed, at least she hadn't left two kids motherless when she vanished, "that's... better."

She watched 'Laura' for a long moment, nodding. "What else?"

"How were things between Oliver and Chloe?" She asked quietly, glancing at the other woman.

Lois leaned back in her chair, a soft smile on her face. "Incredible," she said honestly. "They loved each other so much. He worshiped the ground she walked on and she kept him grounded. It was...one of those relationships that seemed so amazing it was almost like a dream or a fairy tale at points. They were equals in every way. I've never seen two people better matched for each other than the two of them. Well. Except for me and Clark, maybe."

Laura watched the other woman as she spoke, her chest tightening at her words and her eyes getting a little warmer, it did sound too good to be true but how could she not believe it when the guy had looked as desperate as he had the entire time he'd been around her. And every picture she'd seen of the two of them together, they seemed to be looking at each other adoringly, "she sounds lucky."

"They both were," she said softly, looking over at her seriously. "They had both gone through a lot of rough times and a few...less than great relationships before they finally realized what was right in front of them. But I guess it was how it was supposed to happen, you know?"

Pursing her lips together, she shrugged slightly, "I guess," she wasn't sure what else to say considering the one relationship she remembered having was short-lived and probably never even existed anyway.

Lois watched her quietly for a moment. "I can't imagine how hard this must be for you," she admitted, her voice dropping.

Laura sighed softly and leaned back against her chair, half eaten donut still in hand, "overwhelming is an understatement." She admitted quietly, "but I'm trying not to think about it and just... hope you guys can figure out what happened instead."

"Well, you have got an entire team of super-heroes at your disposal, plus me." She flashed her cousin a bright smile. "We'll have it sorted it out in no time."

She tried for a smile but didn't quite manage it so she nodded instead, "I hope so."

"Trust me. You're in great hands," Lois assured her, reaching out and giving her arm a gentle squeeze.

Laura managed a faint smile at that and nodded once more, "thank you," she really had no choice but to believe that, she would rather be there, trying to figure things out anyway than still be lost in Chicago with the possibility that whoever had done this to Chloe in the first place was still controlling her and making her hurt more people.


	8. Chapter 8

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

Sometime around ten the next morning, Laura sat up, startled when there was a knock on her hotel room door. She had gotten there a little after eleven the previous night and after a long bath had passed out until around eight this morning. She had just ordered breakfast but she hadn't expected it to come as soon as it had so even though she'd been expecting a knock, she was still jumpier than usual.

She still had her pajamas on but didn't bother changing, she wasn't planning on going anywhere until the doctor called her, she didn't want to risk losing it and getting arrested for beating someone up or something.

With a deep breath, she walked over to the door and opened it, her eyes widening when she realized it wasn't room service.

"Hi," Oliver said quietly, his expression one of uncertainty as he gazed at her.

"Oh," she said considering for a moment before stepping aside, "hi, I didn't expect you to come by."

"Is it okay that I'm here?" His hands were in the pockets of his jacket.

Nodding, she made more room for him to come inside, she was done thinking he was going to hurt her in any way.

He offered her a small smile and stepped inside. "Is the room okay? Are you comfortable here?" he asked softly, glancing around and then letting his gaze settle on her once more.

"Yeah, it's nice," she told him, "Lois suggested this hotel, she said you owned it?"

Oliver nodded a little. "How are you feeling today?" he asked worriedly.

"Okay," she said quietly, looking down then over at him, "how are you?"

"I'm fine," he assured her, taking a hesitant step toward her and motioning to her head. "Did you uh--did you have a concussion?"

"No," she said sincerely then moved her shoulder slowly, "and that's better too."

He exhaled slowly, relief washing over him. "Good," he whispered, relaxing a little.

"Thank you," Laura told him, swallowing hard as she watched him, "for everything you're doing."

He nodded a little. "It's not a problem," he said softly.

"Did you want to sit down?" She offered, "I ordered breakfast about ten minutes ago."

Oliver hesitated a moment, then nodded, sitting down at the small round breakfast table in the corner. "Were you comfortable with Lois?"

She considered that for a moment then nodded, taking the seat opposite from him, "yeah, she seems very nice," she told him.

He smiled, folding his hands on the table. "Good."

"Did you talk to Dr. Hamilton?" She asked, she didn't want him to think she was demanding information but she was curious about the exam results.

"No, not yet this morning," he told her quietly. "He's going to call as soon as he has any results back."

"How long do you think it will take him?" She said, placing her hands over the table too and holding them together, trying to curb some of her anxiety.

Oliver hesitantly reached out and covered her hands with one of his, a sense of deja vu washing over him. "I think we'll have some results anytime now. He's just being thorough," he assured her.

She swallowed hard and looked down at their hands, hesitating before wrapping her fingers around his. She couldn't deny that she already felt a connection to the man sitting next to her, she didn't know if it was because she was supposed to be married to him or if it was because he was helping her as much as he was, but holding his hand definitely provided some comfort, "do you think he will be able to find something to reverse it?"

He tried to ignore the burgeoning hope he felt spread inside him as she wrapped her fingers around his in return. "If anyone can, it's Emil." He thought again of Lois' suggestion that Clark take Chloe to the Fortress but frankly he didn't trust the alien's snow dad to do _anything_ to Chloe. Not after he'd so willingly wiped her mind of her memories once before.

Laura nodded slightly and let out a deep breath, she didn't want to get too hopeful either, but if Oliver trusted the doctor's work as much as he seemed to, she supposed she should too.

"Is there anything else that I can do for you? Anything that you need?" he asked, gazing at her.

After considering the question for a moment, she shook her head and sighed softly, "no, I just don't want to leave here unless it's to see the doctor."

His expression softened. "That's fine. You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he assured her softly. "And if you want something that's not on the room service menu, don't hesitate to let me know." He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand without thinking about it. One of the things he'd missed the most was holding her hand. Silly as it probably seemed, he'd always enjoyed holding hands with her because it was reassuring and intimate. Her hand was much smaller than his own, but it had always fit in his perfectly.

She nodded slightly, pursing her lips together, "I think I will be okay, but thank you."

He nodded as well, looking down at their hands silently.

Laura watched him in silence for a long moment, her chest tightening at the look on his face, "this must be really hard on you," she murmured.

He lifted his gaze to her face. "You're alive. There aren't enough words in existence to express my gratitude to the universe."

Her eyes teared up a little and she tightened her grip on his hands without giving it any thought, "but I'm... not Chloe."

Oliver reached out with his other hand, his left hand, where his wedding band still resided, and covered hers with his. "I don't have any expectations," he whispered. "You may not have her memories right now, and maybe...I don't know, maybe you never will. But you being alive means more to me than you'll ever know."

She nodded slightly, her vision blurry, she felt like an spectator more than anything, like she was being told this heartbreaking love story and there was absolutely nothing she could do to make it better or easier on him. Swallowing hard, she pulled a hand from under his and touched the ring with her thumb, "you've been wearing it all this time?"

His breath hitched a little and he swallowed hard, looking down at the ring, as well. "I've never taken it off," he admitted.

"I hope," she sniffed quietly, "you can get her back," she told him, glancing over at him. It meant she wouldn't exist anymore and that was more than a little scary and confusing but she was never supposed to exist in the first place.

His chest tightened at her words and he lifted his hand to her cheek, gently brushing away a tear with the pad of his thumb.

Laura looked at him for a moment then closed her eyes, letting out a shaky breath.

He watched her, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb, wanting nothing more than to hug her and assure her that everything would be okay. "You should know that...even if I don't get her back." He swallowed hard, a lump in his throat at the thought. "I'll still be here. I'll still do whatever I can to help you, to be here for you if you want. You're not alone."

She opened her eyes, her stomach clenching painfully at his words and she nodded slightly, watching him, "thank you," she murmured, not knowing what else to say to him.

"You're welcome," he murmured back, reluctantly dropping his hand from her cheek.

Laura took a deep, calming breath and wiped her face, nodding a little when there was a knock on the door.

Oliver looked over at it uncertainly until he remembered that she had ordered breakfast. He gave her hands a light squeeze, then rose to his feet, moving to the door and opening it. He smiled a bit, reaching out and taking the tray from the man, thanking him, and then moving over to set it on the table.

She stood up too but he'd been faster than her, "thank you," she told him, since she'd only had a couple of donuts to eat the previous day she was more than famished so she took her seat again, "I'm sure there's plenty if you want to have some."

He smiled faintly at the offer, shaking his head a little even as he sat down across from her once more. "I ate breakfast already. With Casey earlier," he admitted. "But thank you for the offer."

Nodding slightly, her chest tightened once more as she pulled the lid from the tray, "how is she?" She asked quietly.

"She's all right," he said just as quietly. He wasn't going to tell her about the fight they'd had the night before because he didn't want her to blame herself.

"Is she at school?" She asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee, adding milk and sugar to it.

He nodded a little. "Yeah. She's in second grade," he told her, watching her.

Laura nodded slightly, "and you said she's very smart, right?" She asked, setting a plate of pancakes away from her and picking up a piece of toast instead.

"Very," he agreed, his eyebrows furrowing a little as he looked at the plate of pancakes she'd set aside. "You don't like pancakes?"

She made a face and shook her head a little, "it just came with the breakfast platter," she explained, "they make me sick."

Oliver held his breath at that, a little caught off guard. "Oh."

She paused mid-bite and set her toast down, her eyes widening a little, "did... Chloe like them?"

He swallowed hard, staring at the stack of pancakes. "We uh--we used to make them a lot. Well. I'd make them and she'd watch," he whispered.

"Oh," she breathed, blinking a couple of times, "I thought maybe I was allergic to the maple syrup or something..." she said quietly, frowning.

He tried to smile, but couldn't quite manage it. "No, definitely not," he said softly, his chest tight. He suddenly felt like he was suffocating. "I need to head into my office for a little while, but, uh...I will call you the minute I hear anything from Emil, okay? And if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."

Laura's face fell but she nodded slightly, "yeah, I will. Thank you," she said once more.

He reached out and gave her hand a gentle squeeze before heading for the door, feeling like he'd had the wind knocked out of him. Whoever had reprogrammed her to believe she was someone else, had done such a good job at it that they'd made her hate something as simple as a food she'd once loved.

He made his way outside, shuddering involuntarily as he leaned against the wall.

Chloe was gone.

And he suddenly wasn't so sure there was anything that could be done to bring her back.

Ever.

* * *

Laura barely had the chance to finish her toast when there was another knock on the door. She frowned a little, Oliver had left less than five minutes ago so she figured maybe he had forgotten to say something and had decided to just come back upstairs rather than call so she walked over to the door and opened it then paused. The man outside was definitely not Oliver.

"Hello." He greeted.

She stared at him suspiciously and frowned, "can I help you?" She asked.

The man chuckled and nodded, reaching a hand and touching her temple, "you always can."

Her eyes widened for just a second then she felt her mind growing blank and peaceful, so much that she didn't mind it when he pushed her back inside the room and followed, locking the door behind him and smiling at her, "let's get started."

* * *

Casey made her way out of the school building, her backpack dragging the ground as she looked around for her dad's car. She didn't see it anywhere, and he'd promised to pick her up today after school, and spend some time with her since he'd broken his promise the day before. She frowned, her shoulders slumping as she watched other parents picking up her classmates and friends, and still no sign of her dad. 

It figured. Sighing, she made her way to a bench by the sidewalk and sat down.

Chloe's heart was racing as she watched the blond girl sitting by herself, she was so big, so grown up, but she couldn't draw attention to them, she had to be careful and get her to safety before it was too late.

Once there weren't as many kids and parents around she approached carefully and held her breath, "Case?" She murmured, her entire body tense, she just hoped she would remember her.

She looked up at the sound of her nickname, and her eyes widened a little. "Mom?" she whispered.

Her chest tightened painfully and her eyes teared up but she smiled a little, "you remember me," she said quietly, looking around then back at her, "I know this must be confusing for you, but you need to come with me, okay? And then I'll explain everything," she whispered, holding out her hand.

"Daddy said he was coming to get me," she whispered, even as she got off the bench and moved closer to Chloe.

"I know," she whispered, crouching down, "we're meeting with him." 

She threw her arms around her mom's neck, hugging her tightly and burying her face in her blond hair. "I missed you."

Chloe wrapped her arms tightly around Casey and hugged her close, pressing a kiss to her head, "I missed you too, baby," she whispered, "I'm so sorry I wasn't here."

Casey's eyes were teary. "You won't leave me again, right?"

"No," she promised, not letting go of the child even as she stood up, she was heavy, but they didn't have time and she didn't want to let go, "we'll be together, you, me and your dad."

"Okay," she whispered, holding onto her tightly, not about to let go.

"I love you," Chloe whispered to her, her own eyes teary even as she walked away from the school, looking around to make sure they weren't being followed. 

"I love you, too, Mommy." Casey closed her eyes.

She smiled a little and kissed the little girl's head once more, heading for a car parked around the corner, "we'll be okay," she promised. As soon as they met with Ollie at the safe house and got rid of all of their problems, they would be able to go back to their normal lives.


	9. Chapter 9

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

  


Oliver rubbed a hand over his face tiredly as he climbed out of his car in front of Star City's Meridian Elementary school. Guilt washed over him as he glanced around looking for his daughter. He was running late--only a few minutes, but late nonetheless--because he'd fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room and slept for nearly five hours that afternoon. "Casey," he called, heading toward the small play area in the back.

There were a few parents talking near by and all three of them glanced at him but said nothing.

He looked past them to the kids playing on the playground. Two little boys, a brunette girl a couple years older than Casey, and a red-head he'd seen before. What the hell was her name? _Rachel_. He lifted his hand in a wave. "Rachel! Have you seen Casey?" he asked hopefully.

"Hi Mr. Queen!" Rachel greeted brightly, "Casey already left."

His eyebrows furrowed a little. "She got on the bus?" Crap. He was going to have to call Mia and have her meet Casey at home because she was a lot closer to the suite now than he was. If she was home.

Rachel shook her head and walked closer to him, "she left with a blond lady, they went that way," she pointed.

"A blond lady?" he echoed with confusion, staring at her.

The girl nodded, "she was hugging her and I think she was crying."

Oliver's heart skipped a beat at that. "Thank you, Rachel," he said, backing away and heading toward his car as he yanked his cell phone from his pocket, dialing Mia's number.

Mia answered after a couple of rings, "what's up?" She asked in form of greeting.

"Some blond lady picked Casey up from school today," he said urgently.

" _What_?" She gasped, standing up from her chair immediately, "who do you think it is?"

"Her friend Rachel said that Casey hugged the woman, that she was crying. I don't know, unless..." His voice trailed off and he raked a hand through his hair.

"Unless?" Mia pressed, "I'm heading to the suite."

"Unless it was Chloe, but her hair's brown now. So unless she colored it--" He climbed into his car once more, yanking the seatbelt across his chest.

"You said you just saw Chloe this morning, right? And she didn't even remember Casey." Mia pointed out, getting into the elevator.

"Right. But Casey's a smart kid. She wouldn't get into a car with just anyone." He started the car and began to say something else when there was a click on the line. "Mia, I've got another call. I'll call you right back." He switched over. "Hello?"

"Ollie," Chloe breathed on the phone, "Ollie, you need to hurry."

"Chl--Laura?" His heart began to beat even faster in his chest. "Where are you?"

"No, Ollie, it's _me_ ," Chloe told him, "I remember, I know who was after us," she said urgently.

"Who? Who's after us? Where are you? Do you have Casey?" His eyes were wide as he pulled the car onto the road.

"You need to meet me by the docks, it's not safe for me to tell you over the phone, Case is with me." She told him, "we're at warehouse fifteen."

His eyebrows furrowed a little. "All right. Stay put. I'll be there in a few minutes." Swallowing hard, he ran the red light in front of him and turned the corner without slowing down. He made it there in less than five minutes, throwing the car into park and hurling himself out of it, approaching the warehouse at a dead run, not thinking twice about the fact that he had no weapons if they were in trouble. "Chloe! Casey?"

"Honey," Chloe greeted, a cold smirk on her lips as she appeared from the shadows, "you're home."

Muffled cries came from somewhere within the warehouse but Chloe didn't move.

Oliver paused in his tracks even as his heart clenched at the sound of his daughter's crying. This wasn't Chloe. It wasn't _Laura_ , either. His eyes narrowed at her, his jaw tightening. He did his best not to react to the sight of her familiar blond hair, at the black clothes she was wearing. At least not a visible reaction. "I have to say. You definitely look better as a blond," he said casually.

"So glad you approve," she told him, pulling a knife that had been tucked behind her and stepping closer to him, "now why don't we gather closer, get this family reunion started?"

He eyed the knife, raising an eyebrow. "So this is the plan, huh? Get me alone and kill me? You had plenty of chances before now."

"Oh," she shook her head, "but it wouldn't have been complete without Casey here, Ollie. I wanted her to _watch_."

Casey cried louder from her corner, tugging on the handcuffs that were tying her to a pipe.

"Casey," he called, his voice calm. "Everything's going to be fine, Honey. Your mom's not herself right now, okay? She's a little sick. But we're gonna get out of here and get her some help."

"Sick?" Chloe laughed and with a quick move, turned, kicking him high against his chest.

Oliver caught her foot just before it could connect, shoving her backwards a little. "I think you remember how this ended last time."

She stumble backwards, "what are you going to do, Oliver? Hit me? In front of your _daughter_?"

"I didn't hit you the last time," he pointed out with raised eyebrows.

"No? How did I end up unconscious then?" She smirked, twirling the knife in her hand.

"You hit your head on a table," he informed her. "After popping your own shoulder out of its socket." He circled her slowly, ready to block any moves she was going to try and pull.

She kept her eyes on him as she moved slowly, "or that's your story," she smirked, "you shouldn't trust your dad, Case!" Chloe called, "he's not who he seems to be."

The metal of Casey's handcuffs clicked loudly against the pipe again as she screamed and cried out.

His jaw tightened just a little as they circled one another again. "Video tapes don't lie, Chloe. Or Laura. Or whoever the hell you are."

"Kinky," she smirked, still moving and then without warning she ducked to one side, lifting the knife she'd be holding on the opposite hand and stabbing him just below the ribs.

A startled noise escaped him and he looked down at the knife now embedded into his side, blood already soaking his shirt.

Casey cried out for her dad, trying to free herself even as she sobbed loudly.

Chloe pulled the knife from his side a moment later and smirked then her face turned into a horrified expression, "no!" She cried and then a moment later, "shut up!" Her jaw clenched and she lifted her arm, hitting him hard against the jaw with her elbow.

He hit the ground hard, every bone in his body feeling the impact, pain exploding in his side as he shut his eyes, inhaling sharply. "Fight this," he whispered. "You can fight this, Chloe."

She leaned down and hooked her arms under his, dragging him toward another pipe and handcuffing him to it, "there," she said tightly, "now you can both watch as I kill the other."

"You are _not_ the weak one here," he said as forcefully as he could, even as he began to see spots dancing in front of his eyes.

"No," she said, cleaning the knife with her fingers and smirking, "you are."

Casey sobbed and tried to shift closer to her dad, tears streaming down her face.

"Fight this, Chloe," he whispered once more. "This isn't who you are." His eyes rolled back in his head as consciousness drained from him.

"Shut up!" She barked, kicking him hard then turning to Casey, "I guess it's just you and me, you always knew deep down that Daddy was a loser, didn't you?"

Casey cowered backwards as far as she could, tugging her wrists against the handcuffs uselessly. "He is not! He's Green Arrow!"

"Is that what they told you?" Chloe asked, approaching her and lifting the knife, "he's no superhero, look at him. He can't even save his own little girl."

"Mommy, please," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Chloe's face fell, "Casey," she whispered then shook her head, "STOP!" She ordered, kneeling down and lifting her knife toward the little girl's face but stilling, "No!" She said again, wrapping her other hand over the one that was holding the knife and forcing it away from Casey.

Casey turned her face away as best she could, trembling.

"I won't hurt my daughter!" Chloe said tightly, her hands shaking as she pulled the knife away from her, tears blurring her vision as her whole body started to shake.

"Mommy!" she cried out, looking over at her dad, and then back at Chloe once more.

She closed her eyes tightly, taking a couple of deep breaths before opening them again, wide and staring at Casey.

Casey stared back at her with frightened eyes, her breathing ragged.

Chloe focused on her just a moment longer, both hands still tight around the knife, shaking hard and then stopping. She gasped deeply and turned around, throwing the knife away from them and just as it made a loud noise against the floor, she turned back to look at Casey, then at Ollie. Her stomach turning. "Oh God." She whispered, looking between the two of them again, her heart beating fast as she shifted closer to Casey, "I'm so sorry," she said, shaking her head as she lifted her hands to the handcuff after pulling the keys from the jacket pocket and freeing the little girl.

The girl immediately moved to her dad's side. "Help him," she whispered with tears sparkling in her eyes. "Please, Mommy."

Nodding, Chloe sniffed and undid his handcuffs too, "he'll be okay," she promised, searching Oliver's pockets for a cellphone and handing it to Casey, "call someone for help," she told her, standing up and hooking her arms under Ollie's once again then starting to pull him toward the SUV that was parked a few feet away.

Casey took the phone in shaky hands, dialing 911.

Chloe heard the three digits being dialed and her eyes widened, "Casey, no!" She cried out, carefully placing Ollie on the floor, "hang up!"

Her eyes wide, she quickly hung up the phone, looking at Chloe uncertainly. "You said to call for help," she whispered in a tiny voice.

She nodded and took a deep breath, "Clark!" She called as loudly as she could then called again before walking over to Casey and picking her up, hugging her tightly, "it's okay, we just need faster help than that."

A second later, Clark flew in, dressed in blue tights and a red cape, staring wide-eyed at the scene in front of him. "Chloe?" he whispered.

Chloe was staring at him just as wide-eyed, more specifically at his clothes, but this wasn't the time for that, "Oliver needs help, hurry," she told him, holding on to Casey.

He looked over to where Oliver lay unconscious on the ground, his eyes widening even more. "Oh, God." He quickly moved over to him, lifting him as carefully as he could. "I'll be right back." Without waiting for a response he whooshed away the same way he'd come.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment before looking down at Casey, "are you hurt anywhere?" She asked in a whisper.

She shook her head wordlessly, staring up at her with wide eyes.

Chloe pressed a kiss to her forehead then looked at her again, "he'll be okay," she promised.

"Why did you hurt him?" she whispered, shaking her head again.

"I didn't mean to," she said sincerely, her chest tightening, "something was controlling me, telling me to hurt both of you. I had to fight it." She was too shaken and things were far from clear in her own head, it didn't even cross her mind to lie to her daughter.

She swallowed hard, but didn't get a chance to respond before Clark came flying back in.

Wordlessly he reached out and grabbed Chloe in a hug, picking her up right off her feet.

Chloe blinked and looked up at Clark but kept her arms securely around her daughter as he lifted both of them then relaxed a little, "thank you," she whispered.

"Come on. I'll take you to the hospital. Hold on."

"Hold on to me, okay?" She said to Casey, "tightly."

Casey's eyes widened but she nodded slightly, looking up at her uncle curiously.

He offered Casey a reassuring smile before flying them out of the warehouse and into the sky quickly, holding onto them tightly, as well.

Chloe's eyes widened as Clark _flew_ them out of the warehouse, she glanced down then up at him.

With an identical expression on her face, Casey stared up at him for a moment longer then looked down, "whoa..."

He couldn't help but smile a little at their expressions, flying them to the hospital and carefully setting them down. "I'll be back," he whispered to Chloe, before flying away quickly.

Chloe nodded then took a deep breath, looking down at Casey once more, "are you okay?"

"I think so." She swallowed hard, looking at her mom for a minute, and then toward the hospital entrance. "Come on, I wanna check on him."

She nodded then tightened her arms around her once more before walking into the building and to the nurse's station, "I'm looking for Oliver Queen's room," she asked, rubbing a hand over Casey's back soothingly.

The nurse looked up, then did a double-take as she stared at Chloe with wide-eyes. "Oh. Oh, okay, uh...let me just find out where he is right now." Her face had paled a little.

"Thank you," Chloe said, frowning a little at the woman's reaction.

Casey looked up at her mom as the nurse headed away quickly. "I should call Mia."

Chloe paused at that and blinked a couple of timed before shifting Casey slightly in her arms and put her down before handing her the phone she was still holding.

She quickly dialed the number she knew by heart, and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Oliver, where the hell are you!?" Mia answered, her voice panicked.

"Mia?" Casey's face crumpled at the sound of her voice.

"Casey?" Mia asked, her voice lowering instantly, "where are you? Are you okay?"

She sniffed. "We're at the hospital. The one by the ice cream store. Can you come here?"

Mia's heart sunk and she nodded, "I'm on my way, I'm at your house so I'll be there in fifteen minutes okay?"

Chloe's chest clenched a little and she pressed a kiss to the top of Casey's head.

"Okay," she whispered, hanging up the phone and wrapping her arms around Chloe's waist tightly.

"It's okay," Chloe whispered to her, "it will be okay, he's strong."

Nodding, she hiccuped a sob, burying her face in her mom's stomach.

Chloe swallowed hard and knelt down on the floor, wrapping her arms tightly around her daughter and pulling her closer.

"What happened?" Clark asked as he walked up, now dressed in regular clothes, jeans and a shirt.

She didn't let go of Casey, just turned to look up at Clark, "the nurse went to go find which room he's in."

He gazed at her, a dazed expression on his face. "Are you all right? Were you hurt?"

She swallowed hard, cupping Casey's head in her hand and shaking her head as she looked away.

"Do you know who I am?" he whispered, taking a step closer.

Chloe took a deep breath and pressing a kiss to Casey's forehead, she stood up then looked up at Clark, "I know who you are, I know who she is, I know Oliver and Lois and Mia but I can't remember anything else," she admitted in a whisper.

He let out a breath, then stepped forward, hugging her again as he shut his eyes. "I can't believe you're really here."

She wrapped an arm around him, keeping the other one around Casey and sighing, "what happened to me?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But you're back now. That's all that matters."

"Mrs. Queen?" The nurse from earlier called, her face still pale, her eyes wide.

Chloe didn't look, but Casey lifted her head and looked at the nurse questioningly.

"Chloe?" Clark looked at her worriedly as he pulled away. He nodded toward the nurse.

"Yeah?" Chloe said to Clark then blinked, turning to look at the nurse, her own eyes widening a little.

"Mr. Queen is in room 1134, you can come in now," she turned to Clark, "family members only, I'm afraid."

"Of course," he said quietly. He shifted his gaze to Chloe. "You should go see him."

She frowned in confusion then looked at Clark. Maybe he had told them something when he brought him in. "Okay," she held her breath and reached for Casey's hand before following the nurse down the hall. "Is he awake?"

"I'm afraid not. He's being prepped for surgery as we speak. I thought you'd want to see him before we took him in." She tried to smile but didn't quite manage it.

Chloe held her breath, her stomach turning, "how bad is it?"

"We're not sure the extent of the damage yet," she said softly, lowering her voice so Casey didn't hear.

Swallowing hard, Chloe nodded a little, squeezing Casey's hand and glancing at the nurse, "thank you."

Nodding a little in return, the nurse led her into the room where Ollie lay on a gurney, hooked up to an IV and several machines. He was surrounded by nurses and doctors, who were moving about quickly trying to get him ready for surgery.

Casey's hand tightened around Chloe's, her eyes big.

Chloe took a deep breath and her stomach turned, she stopped by the door and shook her head a little, "no, Case, we'll... we'll see him when he's awake, okay?" She said, stepping in front of her daughter and crouching down to her eye level.

Her eyes were filled with tears. "Is he gonna die?" she whispered.

"No," Chloe said firmly, "he'll be okay, we just need to let the doctors take care of him right now and we'll see him when they are done."

Casey's lower lip trembled and she flung her arm around Chloe's neck, burying her face there.

Holding her breath, Chloe held on to Casey tightly and lifted her hand, glancing at Oliver then at one of the doctors questioningly.

"We're going to do everything we can, Mrs. Queen," one of them said quietly.

Chloe blinked at the title, there it was again. She barely managed a nod as she looked over at Oliver once more, stilling completely as she noticed his hand laying on the bed, a wedding band on his finger, reflecting the bright lamp on top of him. _Family members only,_ the nurse told Clark and yet she was there with Casey. Casey, her daughter and she had no memories of being pregnant or of who the father was. Casey who was worried sick about Oliver.

Because Oliver was Casey's father. Chloe was _married_ to him. And now he might not make it because of what she had done.


	10. Chapter 10

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

His head was pounding as he slowly became aware of his surroundings, a little at a time. First, he could hear a very annoying beeping to his left that made him want to return to the bliss of unconsciousness. Then he slowly began to feel a stabbing pain in his side. His eyebrows furrowed a little at that. Why did his side feel like someone had scraped it with sandpaper and then lit him on fire?

Just as he wondered, the memory of Chloe slamming the knife into his gut flashed through his mind and he sat up abruptly, gasping. "Casey!"

Casey was sitting on her mom's lap, by her dad's hospital bed and she had been falling asleep when he suddenly called her name and she sat up too, feeling her mom tighten her arms around her waist and jerk forward as well, "dad!" She said, her eyes widening as she instantly got up and walked right up to the bed.

Chloe's eyes widened and she stood up too, "Oliver, don't sit up like that."

He turned his head to look at her, ignoring the pain shooting through him as he pressed a hand to his side, looking from Chloe to Casey and then back again. His eyebrows furrowed once more, even as the heart monitor sped up.

Chloe lifted a hand to his arm and gently pushed him back, her eyes wide, "lay down." She told him.

"What happened?" he mumbled, reluctantly lying back against the pillows. Had he just had some kind of weird nightmare? Had he hallucinated and just _thought_ it had been Chloe who had stabbed him? His mind was a jumbled mess and nothing made sense.

"Mom stabbed you but she said someone else made her do it," Casey explained bluntly as she climbed on the bed.

Chloe held her breath and looked at her daughter then back at Oliver and nodded slightly.

"Who?" he murmured, his eyes drifting shut once more.

"I don't know yet," Chloe said quietly, watching as her daughter took Oliver's hand and held on to it tightly.

He licked his dry lips, struggling to open his eyes to look at Casey. "Hey," he whispered, squeezing her hand gently.

"You're not going to die, right?" She asked, looking up at her dad.

He managed a faint smile. "I'll be out of here before you know it."

She took a deep breath and relaxed a little, curling her legs under her but not letting go of his hand.

"How are you feeling?" Chloe asked quietly.

"Thirsty," he whispered, shutting his eyes again. He was just too tired to keep them open.

Chloe picked up a glass and poured some water from the pitcher the nurse had brought them earlier then walked up to his bedside again, "here you go," she said, pressing it against his free hand.

He murmured a barely audible thanks before taking a small sip. "Are you both okay?" His voice was rough.

"Yeah," Chloe said quietly, looking at Casey and brushing her hair from her face before looking at Oliver again, "we're both okay."

"'kay," he murmured, his breathing already beginning to even out once more as he drifted back to sleep.

Chloe took the glass from him and took a deep breath, "do you wanna lay down with him?" She asked Casey quietly.

She nodded a little, curling up on his uninjured side and laying her head on his shoulder. "You're not leaving, right?" she whispered.

"No, I'm staying right here," she promised, leaning down and kissing her temple, "but you need to get some rest too," Chloe told her quietly.

* * *

Chloe had been sitting there, a hand on her daughter's back the whole time, both to reassure her she wasn't leaving but also to keep her from falling off the bed in case she turned abruptly. Her brain was a mess. She remembered the people, she knew Casey was her daughter, knew Lois was her cousin, knew Clark was her best friend and knew she and Oliver worked together. But that was about it. She didn't remember being married, didn't remember being pregnant even, didn't remember much else at all and since she didn't want to leave Casey and Oliver's side, she guessed it would be a while before she got her answers.

But she could deal with that, even as she watched the two of them sleeping, she could see the similarities in their features, Casey was obviously his too and that made them her family so she refused to go anywhere. Whatever it was that was going on with her could wait.

Mia stood in the doorway of the hospital room, silent and still. "Are you yourself again?" Her voice was quiet.

Blinking, Chloe looked over at the door, "Mia," she whispered, standing up but keeping her hand on Casey's back, "I think I am."

She pursed her lips, stepping inside the room quietly and looking at Oliver and Casey, asleep on the bed. "But not permanently."

"I don't know," Chloe admitted, "I'm not sure what happened."

Mia watched her for a moment, nodding a little and moving to the opposite side of the bed from where Chloe stood.

"I would never hurt either of them on purpose, Mia," she said, frowning a little at the silence.

"I know that," she said without hesitation, looking over at her. "But there's something wrong with you, Chloe. And we don't know what or how it happens."

Chloe looked over at her, watching her for a moment, "what else did I do?"

"Oliver said you tried to kill him on the jet on the way here to Star City," she said honestly.

She blinked a couple of times and shook her head, staring at Mia for a moment then looking down at Oliver, "I don't remember anything, just people and that warehouse," she admitted quietly, "I don't remember coming to Star City or," she held her breath, "being married to him."

Mia drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Oliver thinks that the explosion...wait, do you even remember an explosion?"

Chloe blinked and shook her head a little, her chest tight, she was trying to remember things, but her mind kept drawing blanks on everything.

She sighed softly, looking down at Oliver for a moment, and then back up at Chloe. "Are you hungry? Do you need some coffee or anything?"

"I promised Casey I wouldn't leave," Chloe told her, looking down at her daughter, "I haven't been around, have I?"

Mia hesitated for a moment. "Chloe, everyone thought you were gone," she said quietly.

"Gone?" She echoed, arching her eyebrows.

"Dead," she admitted.

She breathed, looking down and shaking her head a little, "how long?"

Mia bit her lip for a moment. "Three years."

Chloe blinked, her eyes widening a little as she stared at Mia then down at her daughter, her stomach turning as she thought of her being without her mother for three years. Swallowing hard, she leaned down and pressed a kiss to Casey's temple softly, she wanted to wrap her arms around her, but she didn't want to wake her.

"Everyone thought you were gone except for Ollie and Lois." She looked down.

She took a deep breath, "do you know what kept me away?" Because she couldn't imagine leaving her family, especially not when she knew how it felt, how hard it had been on her and her dad when her mom left them.

"Well, you didn't remember who you were. Or who any of us were," Mia said, shaking her head a little.

"Is that why I can't remember anything else now?" She asked, frowning a little.

"That's my guess." She shrugged a little, watching Chloe for a moment. "Ollie thought someone had programmed you to be someone else. For what purpose, I have no idea."

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded, taking a deep breath, "I guess we need to figure that out."

"We will." Mia shoved her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and glanced at Oliver once more. "Why don't I go get you some coffee?"

With a deep breath she nodded slightly, "thank you, Mia."

"No problem." She headed for the door. "Lots of sugar and cream, right?"

"That would be good," Chloe said, trying for a smile.

"All right. Be right back." Mia disappeared from sight.

Chloe took a deep breath and pulled her chair closer to the bed, placing her hand against Casey's back once more and sitting down with a deep sigh. She hoped Oliver would be able to give her more answers than Mia had.

* * *

Oliver made a face at the selection of food on the tray in front of him, glad that Lois had taken Casey home for the time being so she could shower and change and get something decent to eat. And especially glad that she wasn't there to see _him_ about to throw said tray of food across the room on the grounds of cruel and unusual punishment.

Chloe hadn't left his side but even though Lois left with Casey, she asked Clark to stick around. She didn't want to risk something happening and her hurting Ollie again so she asked him to stop her if he heard something unusual. At the look on Oliver's face, she arched her eyebrows a little, "we can ask Lois to bring you some real food back," she suggested.

"Good idea. I'm not even sure what some of this is." There was some kind of slimy brown substance--gravy maybe?--covering a wobbling mound of what he was afraid to call mashed potatoes. He pushed the tray away a little, struggling to sit up more.

She stood up and picked up the tray, setting it on a small table away from him then taking a deep breath. She'd been glad that Lois suggested taking Casey away because she knew the two of them needed to talk, she just had no idea how to even begin.

Oliver watched her for a moment, biting back a grimace as he adjusted the pillows behind him. He knew thanks to a brief conversation with Lois that while Chloe now seemed to remember who she was, who other people were, she apparently had no memory of the two of them ever being together. He swallowed hard, trying not to let it bother him that it was one of the only huge things she didn't recall. "So." His voice was quiet.

Chloe sighed softly and nodded, looking over at him once more then starting over toward the bed, "I'm guessing Lois told you," she said quietly. She had left Lois and Oliver alone when she went to talk to Clark and she remembered enough about her cousin to know she would have updated Oliver.

His chest tightened a little but he forced himself to smile faintly. "She did." He shrugged a little. "At least you remember who you are now."

"Parts of it anyway," she said quietly, "I remember Chloe Sullivan," she swallowed hard then sat back down on her chair then taking a deep breath, "but not Chloe Queen."

It took everything he had not to wince. "What uh--what do you remember, Chloe? About anything?"

"Nothing," she admitted, sighing deeply, "I don't remember... things happening. I remember people, that's it. I know things about people but I can't remember how it got to that point. I know Casey is my daughter, but I can't remember her childhood and I can't remember being pregnant."

He watched her for a moment. "And you don't remember coming here with me to Star City, or being in Chicago or being Laura Green?"

"No," she admitted, sighing softly. Lois had told her all about that and about the explosion and Oliver finding her after three years, "not at all."

Oliver nodded a little, looking down at the sheet covering his legs. "Do you remember J'onn Jones, by chance?" His voice was quiet.

Chloe squinted slowly and shook her head, "no, not really."

He chewed on the inside of his cheek, falling silent.

"What are you thinking?" She asked quietly.

"That we're going to need his help. But, if you don't remember him, I'm not sure..." He hesitated, glancing at her. "He's a little different."

She took a deep breath and looked up at him, "look, I may not remember much, so I'm just going with my gut feeling here. And it's telling me to trust you." She told him quietly, "if you think he can help, I want to meet him."

Oliver held her gaze, his stomach tightening. "All right. I'll give him a call."

Chloe looked at him for a moment and took a deep breath once more, "I can't be around you or Casey or anyone if there's a possibility I will hurt you."

"You can't leave town." There was a hint of fear in his voice.

"I don't want to," she told him, looking up at him again, "the last thing I want to do is put you and Casey through what I went through with my dad after my mom left, Oliver," her voice broke a little but she shook her head and took a deep breath, "but look what I did to you and what I almost did to her. I can't risk that either."

"That's why I'm calling J'onn," he told her, reaching over and picking up his cell phone off the nightstand, pressing his free hand against the wound in his side as the movement pulled at his stitches. "He's...a mind-reader. So whatever's been done to you, he'll be able to figure out what it is and maybe even correct it."

"Can we get Clark to pick him up?" She asked, she remembered enough mutants, meteor or otherwise, that she wasn't shocked by the ability. 

"Won't be necessary," he admitted with a small smile, dialing the Martian's number.

Chloe nodded slightly and watched him closely, pursing her lips together.

"Jones," he answered a moment later.

"J'onn? It's Oliver." He couldn't help but smile a little.

"Oliver," he greeted, "I heard."

"How much did you hear?" he asked curiously.

"Just what is on the news," he admitted, "how can I help?"

His stomach tightened at that. "What are they saying?" he asked with a hint of worry.

"Just that she's back," he assured Oliver, "comparing her return to yours and they mentioned you being hurt."

"But not how?" He was already sitting up on the bed, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed.

Chloe frowned and looked at Oliver worriedly.

"No," J'onn answered, "speculations are everywhere of course, but nothing concrete."

He muttered a curse word under his breath. "Can you come to Star City? I know you're probably busy--"

"I'll be there in a few seconds," J'onn promised, hanging up the phone a moment later.

Letting out a breath, he hung up the phone and slid off the edge of the bed, wincing a little and heading for the closet across the room. "He's on his way," he told Chloe.

Chloe stood up and frowned, "what are you doing? You should be resting." She said, walking up to him.

"No time," he said quietly, glancing at her as he pulled his bag from the top shelf and slowly m oved back to the bed. "J'onn's on his way, we need to get _you_ someplace safe, and I need to contact my PR department."

When she realized he wasn't going to stop, she started to help him gather things from around the room, "what are you talking about? What did J'onn tell you?"

"That he's on the way. And that the news has reported you as being alive," he informed her, stuffing things into the bag. "Clark, can you come in here please?" He didn't bother raising his voice, well-aware the alien could hear him even several rooms away.

Chloe blinked and shook her head, "so what does that mean?" She was definitely not used to her mattering enough to make it on the news but she supposed at least the local press would care enough to report 'Mrs. Queen's' miraculous reappearance.

Clark entered the room a moment later, adjusting his glasses, "I heard," he informed both of them, frowning.

"That means that right now you're in danger. So we need to get you somewhere safe." He shifted his gaze to Clark.

"What about you and Casey?" Chloe said, shaking her head, "if someone is trying to find me the two of you will be the obvious next targets."

He nodded slightly, glancing back at her. "Clark, would you be able to take them somewhere safe for the time being?"

Clark nodded, stepping forward, "of course."

Chloe gave Clark a look and stepped closer to Oliver, "what about _you_?" She pushed, she didn't remember why she thought so, but she knew he was stubborn and not the greatest at looking after himself so she was going to trust her instincts.

"I'm gonna wrap up a few things and then I'll meet you there," he told her, meeting her eyes.

She stared at him for a moment then looked between the two of them, "would that J'onn guy be able to keep Casey and I safe so Clark can come back and stay with you?"

Oliver felt his lips twitch upwards just a little involuntarily at her determination, and for a brief moment it was like everything was back to the way it had been once upon a time. The urge to lean in and kiss her was nearly overwhelming. He settled for a small smile. "Yeah. We'll have him take Lois and Mia along, as well."

Chloe took a deep breath and relaxed a little, nodding, "okay," she gave in finally.

"Where should I take them?" Clark asked, also a little amused that although Chloe didn't remember much of anything she was still telling them what to do.

He glanced at Clark once more, considering. "Our little clubhouse in Metropolis."

Clark nodded, "I'll take Chloe first, you call J'onn?"

Chloe took a deep breath and looked between the two of them but remained quiet.

"He's on his way," Oliver told him. Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, J'onn appeared in the doorway. "And the man of the hour." He smiled faintly.

J'onn walked into the room and looked at Oliver, nodding and smiling a little, "Oliver," he greeted, "Clark," and then his eyes fell on Chloe and he watched her for a moment before deciding to extend his hand, "I'm J'onn Jones," he introduced himself.

Chloe held her breath and nodded, taking a step toward him and shaking his hand, "I'd say nice to meet you, but I guess that would be redundant on your part."

Oliver reached out and rested a hand on her uninjured shoulder, then quickly dropped it away from her. "J'onn, Clark's going to take Chloe to Metropolis. We're going to have Lois and Casey and Mia go, too. Would you mind staying with them for awhile while I deal with a few things here? Then I'll come and meet you guys."

"Not at all," J'onn said, nodding then turning to Clark, "I can help you take them to the city if you want."

Clark nodded, "it will be faster that way."

Pursing her lips together Chloe turned her head and glanced over at Oliver, "will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine," he said softly. "Don't worry about me."

She frowned at that and gave him a look then looked over at Clark, "let's go."

Clark nodded and stepped closer to Chloe, "I'll be right back," he told the other two then picked Chloe up and left through the window.

Oliver looked at J'onn. "I need you to get inside her mind," he admitted. He quickly explained the situation, how she'd been fine one minute and Dr. Jeckyl the next. "I can't lose her again." His voice was quiet and he looked down at the floor.

"I did," J'onn told him, "there is a lot more than Chloe in there, I will see what I can do," he told him then placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder, "but all of her memories are still in there, just hidden from her."

He held his breath at that, nodding a little as his stomach tightened. "If the memories aren't what's best for her right now, don't...don't make them happen."

J'onn's face grew serious but he shook his head, "all I can do is unlock them," he admitted, "clear her mind of everything that doesn't belong there, but she will have to remember things for herself, slowly. It would be information overload otherwise and it could damage her permanently."

Oliver exhaled slowly. "Yeah, that's...what I was afraid of," he admitted.

"I will need more time with her to understand that is going on and what was causing her personality change," J'onn told him, "but she'll be okay."

"Good," he whispered, nodding. "Lois and the others are in the waiting room," he told him. "I'm just gonna change clothes and sign myself out."

"I'll help Clark then start working on Chloe." He told Oliver with a nod before leaving the room.

He watched him go, then moved to the closet once more, pulling out a change of clothes that someone had brought by. He wasn't sure who, but he'd figure it out later and thank them. He changed as quickly as he could, grabbing his duffel bag and heading out into the hallway, down toward the nurse's desk. He leaned against it, waiting for someone to notice him.

"Can I hel--" the nurse stopped, her eyes widening, "Mr. Queen, you shouldn't be up!" She gasped.

He did his best to suppress a smile. "I'm going home."

She stared at him then typed quickly on her computer before shaking her head, "your doctor hasn't released you yet."

"I know. I'm signing myself out," he informed her.

"Mr. Queen, I can't let you do that, your doctor wanted to keep you here for at least two more days." She said, swallowing hard.

He glanced at her nametag. "Nancy?" He offered her a small smile, forcing himself to be patient despite his eagerness to get out of there and get to work. "You don't have anything to worry about. I'll place a call to Dr. Hamilton personally and inform him of my decision and that I wouldn't let you talk me out of it. Everything will be fine."

She shifted uncomfortably and sighed softly then typed for a moment, printing out a couple of forms and setting them over the counter.

He smiled as he jotted his signature across the appropriate lines. "Thank you." He pushed himself away from the counter, pressing a hand lightly to his side and heading for the exit.

"Feel better," she called, wincing.


	11. Chapter 11

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

Chloe had been in the building for about five minutes when Clark brought Casey, she'd spent that time looking around, at all the equipment. She felt like she knew what everything was, like if she were to start working on them, she would know exactly what to do and where to go to find what she needed, even though she didn't remember anything about the place at all. But as soon as her daughter was there, her attention was on her.

"Do you need anything?" Chloe asked once Clark left again to pick up Lois and Mia.

Casey shook her head, looking around curiously, but not looking surprised by anything. "This looks sorta like Daddy's secret room back home."

Chloe couldn't help but smile at that, "was the secret room supposed to be a secret from you?"

She grinned a little and shrugged. "Maybe."

She smiled at her daughter and nodded, "your poor dad didn't stand a chance, did he?" She asked, looking around too.

"Not even a little." Casey smirked, moving over to where a large monitor was on the wall. "Dude. You think Dad would let me hook up my X-Box here?"

" _Dude_?" Chloe said, turning to look at Casey and arching a single eyebrow at her.

She turned around, looking a little guilty. "Mia says it all the time!"

"Not to her mom she wouldn't," Chloe pointed out, walking over to her and wrapping her arms around her.

Casey hugged her back without hesitation, closing her eyes tightly.

Chloe's chest tightened a little and she held her close, hugging her as she rubbed a hand over her back gently.

She started to say something else when J'onn suddenly appeared, setting Lois down on her feet. "Clark's on his way back with Mia." He smiled gently at Chloe, then looked at Casey. "How are you doing?" he asked, crouching down in front of her.

Casey kept her arms around her mom but smiled at him, "good, my mom is back." She told him matter-of-factly.

Chloe's arms tightened around Casey and her eyes teared up slightly as she looked down at her.

He smiled back softly. "Yes, she is," he agreed, glancing up at Lois.

"Come on, Smallville," she mumbled, looking toward the window. Just a second later, Clark flew in the window carrying Mia.

" _That_ was awesome," Mia informed him as he set her down.

Clark looked around, then met Chloe's eyes for a moment. "See you soon," he promised before whooshing away once more.

"Thank you," Chloe called after Clark, knowing he'd hear her then taking a deep breath and looking between the others and running her fingers gently over Casey's hair. "What is this place?" She asked, looking around.

"You don't remember Watchtower?" Lois asked, her eyes widening a little as she turned to look at her.

Chloe stilled her face growing blank for a moment then her jaw tightened and her eyes widened.

Mia turned to look at Chloe and when she saw the look on her face, her stomach dropped, "Chloe?"

Casey kept her arms around her mom but frowned a little as she looked up at her when her hand stopped on her hair.

"Lois, Mia. Take Casey and go downstairs," J'onn said very quietly, his voice serious. "Chloe, don't move."

Chloe's hands dropped to her sides and she turned to stare at him.

"Mom?" Casey called, her eyes wide as she stared up at her.

Lois' eyes were wide, as well. "Come on, Case," she said urgently, reaching out and taking her by the hand.

J'onn gazed back at her intently, his eyes not leaving Chloe's.

Mia wasn't willing to wait so when Casey didn't move, she picked her up and glanced at Lois, "let's go."

Chloe's jaw was tight but her mind was blank except for J'onn's orders. She couldn't think, couldn't move.

Lois nodded quickly, moving toward the door and leading them out of the main room, leaving Chloe and J'onn alone together.

J'onn reached out and gently touched Chloe's temple, searching her eyes. "Watchtower," he murmured.

She jerked, her teeth clenching, her eyes narrowing.

"Thought that was the trigger word." He stepped closer. "Calm, Chloe. Everything's fine. You don't have any desire to harm anyone. You know who you are."

Chloe blew out a breath at that and blinked a couple of times, relaxing slowly and shaking her head, "what happened?"

J'onn studied her. "Watchtower," he said quietly.

She tensed instantly again, eyes narrowing once more.

Pursing his lips, he focused intently. "The word 'Watchtower' will no longer upset you. You will hear it as a perfectly normal word and will react to it in the future with nothing but calm awareness, knowing that it is only a word. You will no longer feel the need to act out when you hear the word 'Watchtower.' Come back to yourself, Chloe. Your mind is clear of toxic suggestions."

Sighing deeply, Chloe closed her eyes and kept them closed for a moment before she blinked her eyes open once more and she focused on him again, "J'onn?" She asked, lifting her hand to her temple and rubbing it slowly.

He smiled faintly. "Yes," he said quietly, nodding.

She looked around for a moment then back at him, "Casey."

"I had Lois and Mia take her downstairs when Lois unknowingly triggered you," he said gently.

"Triggered me?" Chloe asked quietly, shaking her head.

"Someone planted a trigger word into your mind so that when you heard it, you became violent," he explained.

"Whoever had me," she nodded slowly, blowing out a breath and rubbed her face with both hands.

"Yes." J'onn watched her. "You should be fine now. I deactivated the trigger."

"Can you make sure?" She asked, not wanting to take a chance when she was around the others.

"Of course, Watchtower."

She stared at him and arched her eyebrows, "that was it?" She asked, "Watchtower?"

"That was it. Someone knew who you were, and decided to use that against you." He gazed at her with worry.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Chloe said, arching her eyebrows at him and taking a deep breath. "Thank you."

A moment later, Clark flew into the top floor of the Watchtower with Oliver.

Chloe stilled the moment her eyes fell on Oliver, her eyes widening slowly as memories of him suddenly flooded her brain. Some were hazy, some vivid, some like kissing him for the first time right here, like sleeping with him for the first time that same night, how he made her feel. Beautiful, sexy, adored, _loved_. How every time he looked at her, her heart skipped a beat and she felt a warmth inside. She remembered so many little moments but more importantly, she remembered feelings. She remembered being so scared, being terrified of her feelings for him and she remembered loving him, more than she'd ever loved anyone before.

Oliver barely made it to the bathroom before he threw up what little he'd managed to choke down of the hospital food the last twenty-eight or so hours, holding his hand to his side as pain shot through him. He hated flying. He was also bitter he'd never gotten over the motion sickness from it. If Hawkman was watching now, he was undoubtedly laughing his tail feathers off.

Her eyes widened as she started toward the bathroom then she paused, looking at Clark, "is he okay?" She asked, panicked.

Clark winced but nodded, smiling sheepishly, "he hates flying."

He emerged a moment later, his face ashen. "No, I don't mind flying as long as it's in a plane," he grumbled.

Chloe hesitated just a second then bit down on her bottom lip and walked over to Oliver, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly without warning.

Oliver's eyes widened a little, and he looked over at J'onn with confusion even as he hugged her back, wincing a little.

J'onn looked at Oliver and nodded, smiling slightly then patting Clark's shoulder and nodding toward the door.

Clark smiled a little and followed him out of the room silently.

Chloe didn't let go of Oliver, she kept her arms tight around his neck, her eyes closed, her heart beating fast against her chest as she tried her best to focus on any memory of him she could cling to.

"Chloe?" His voice was soft, uncertain as he gently rubbed her back. "You okay?"

"I remember," she whispered, not letting go of him, "I remember you," she said quietly, turning her head toward him, pressing her nose against his cheek, "us."

Oliver held his breath at that, closing his eyes and wondering if he was dreaming. "You do?"

"Some of it," she whispered, her lips touching his cheek as she spoke but she refused to pull away, "I remember being here with you, I remember spending so much time here with you."

He swallowed hard, one hand sliding up and into her hair. "I've missed you," he whispered, keeping her close.

"I've missed you too," she whispered back, pressing a very soft, tentative kiss to his cheek. She didn't remember being away at all, but she remembered being told she'd been gone for three years.

His eyes suddenly felt warm and he turned his head slightly, capturing her lips in a soft kiss.

Just like she remembered, her chest felt warm but so did her eyes as she kissed him back, lifting her hand to his neck as she deepened the kiss. Memories of several kisses flooding her but she wasn't paying attention to them this time, she was focusing on him.

Oliver shuddered against her as the long-ago familiar sensation of kissing her washed over him for the first time in years, overwhelming him with emotion, memories.

Chloe only pulled back a moment later because she needed air, her face was wet with tears, but it wasn't until she sniffed that she realized they were hers. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, taking a deep, shaky breath.

He slowly opened his eyes to reveal his own tears, lifting a hand to her face. He pressed his lips against her forehead, swallowing hard.

She held her breath and lifted a hand to cup his cheek, her eyes bright as she pulled back enough to look at him, "are you okay?" She whispered, glancing down at his side.

"I'm fine," he whispered, nodding.

Pursing her lips together she nodded slightly and looked up at him again, brushing her nose gently against his as she ran her thumb over his cheek.

"You really remember?" He swallowed hard. "Us, being here...?"

"Yes," she whispered, smiling a little as her eyes teared up more, "I remember the archery lesson and everything that happened after that," she told him, smiling a little more at the memory.

A smile tugged at his mouth and he gently wiped away a tear with his thumb. "I love you," he whispered, pulling her into his arms once more.

She leaned into his touch and smiled, keeping her eyes on him, "I love you, too."

He let out a shuddering breath at the words, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Thank you," she whispered, swallowing hard, "for not giving up." She still didn't remember anything that had happened while she was gone, but she knew he'd never given up on finding her, had never believed that she was gone.

His chest tightened at that. "I knew you weren't gone," he whispered back.

Chloe nodded and sniffed quietly, running her fingers through his hair and holding his gaze until she pressed her lips to his again, softer this time.

Oliver's eyes drifted shut at the tender kiss, resting his forehead against hers as he returned it just as softly.

She kissed him a couple more times before pulling back, her fingers still massaging his scalp slowly, "Casey is... amazing," she whispered to him.

He smiled at that, nodding a little. "Yes, she is. She's so much like you," he murmured.

"How much time has she been spending with Lois and Mia?" She asked, smiling but arching her eyebrows.

His smile slipped a little and he looked down at the floor. "A lot," he admitted.

"I figured," she whispered, kissing his cheek, "because not only did she call me 'dude', but she wanted to plug her XBox to the Watchtower monitors."

He winced a little, shutting his eyes.

"Ollie," she frowned, cupping his cheek in her hand and staring at him worriedly, "what is it?"

"Let's just say there's no chance of me making 'Best Dad of the Decade' award anytime soon." He let out a breath.

"She loves you," Chloe whispered to him, kissing his cheek softly, "being a single parent is a lot harder than most people realize."

He wrapped his arms around her once more, leaning his head against hers. "At least I'm not anymore."

"Never again," she promised, wrapping an arm around his good side and pulling him closer.

"Thank God," he whispered. "We uh--we weren't doing so hot."

"What happened?" She asked, frowning slightly with worry.

"Nothing catastrophic," he assured her. "I just meant...in general. I'll tell you all about it. After we get some things taken care of." His expression grew grim.

Chloe took a deep breath then nodded slightly, leaning in and kissing him softly one more time before pulling back slightly, "do you have any leads?" She didn't need an explanation to know he meant take care of finding whoever had her all this time and was possibly after all of them now.

His jaw tightened. "Yeah. One," he told her with a slight nod. "I pulled the video footage from the hotel where you were staying in Star City."

She rubbed a hand over her face and nodded, walking over to the computers and booting them up, "whoever it was, they knew about my codename."

"Not surprising, considering who was on the tape." He gazed at her.

She paused and turned to face him, eyes narrowing slightly, "who?"

Oliver drew in a breath. "That would be one Maxwell Lord."

"Maxw--" she paused, remembering him almost instantly, her eyes widening, "he was controlling me."

"Yes, he was," he agreed, moving toward her. "Unfortunately we don't know where he is. Which means I have to do something I never really wanted to do again."

Chloe stilled and arched her eyebrows, watching him closely.

"I have to contact Rick Flagg."


	12. Chapter 12

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

  


"I have to contact Rick Flagg."

"Oliver," Chloe said, shaking her head and staring at him, her eyes widening, "no. Absolutely not." She said, stepping toward him, "I don't know what he has been up to since I left," she said, even as she spoke, she remembered more and more about her blackmailing the leader of Suicide Squad so she could be in control, "we don't even know if he's still in charge and unless you have something big to blackmail him with, we both know he's not trustworthy." She pressed, stepping closer to him.

He gazed at her intently. "If he's not in charge, I'll beat it out of him until we find out who _is_. It's the only lead we have on tracking down Maxwell Lord."

"There are other ways around it," she pressed, "we have Clark and Bart, we can have them look for him, we know he was in Star City two days ago. He knows I'm with you, he's going to come after us."

Oliver shook his head a little. "He already _did_ come after us, Chloe." His chest tightened.

She took a deep breath and stepped toward him, "we'll keep Casey safe," she told him, looking up at him, "and we will take care of this, _together_."

"We can't sit around and wait for him to come to us again." He gazed at her intently.

"We can't go into this blindly either," she pointed out, "and we can't let him come between us again."

"I want him dead, Chloe." His voice grew quiet, his jaw tightening.

"Oliver," she paused, looking at him, "we'll see what we can do."

"Three years," he whispered, lifting a hand to her face. "Three _years_."

Her chest tightened and she leaned into his touch as she placed her hands on his side, "and I can't imagine how hard that was on you," she whispered, "but you remember how hard it was on you after Lex. I don't want you going through that again."

"Knowing he'll never get his hands on you again will make it worth any guilt I might feel," he responded.

"You say this now," she said quietly, "but you and I both know you're too good a man not to feel guilty about it, Oliver and I don't want that to get in the way of our family, I don't want him to have that much power."

He shut his eyes, forcing himself to take a deep breath.

Chloe leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek, "we'll figure out another way," she whisper quietly, "and we will work on this together."

He slid his arms around her, pulling her against him once more and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "All right."

She relaxed slightly and wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes, "you don't have to take care of anything on your own anymore."

Oliver swallowed hard, resting his head against hers. "We're a team," he whispered.

"Always," she whispered, hugging him a little tighter but carefully with his injury.

Nodding, he kissed her temple even as he heard footsteps approaching the doors.

Casey pushed the door open without hesitation then paused when she saw both her mom and dad then rushed over to them and wrapped her arms around both of them.

Chloe opened her eyes and glanced toward the door in time to see Casey leading the way with Lois, Mia, Clark and J'onn following close behind, her chest tightened painfully as she wrapped one of her arms around her daughter, pulling her closer.

Mia relaxed a little as she watched the three of them hugging, a soft smile touching her lips. J'onn had said that he'd taken care of whatever had been wrong with Chloe--some kind of trigger.

Lois wrapped her arms around Clark's waist, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Clark wrapped an arm around Lois' waist and pulled her closer, smiling a little and looking down at her. J'onn placed a hand on Mia's shoulder and nodded a little, reassuring her.

"It won't happen again," Chloe assured Casey, looking down at her then glancing back at Ollie.

He held her gaze, nodding ever-so-slightly.

It definitely wouldn't happen again.

Because he'd do everything in his power to stop it.

* * *

Clark had brought not only mattresses, but two full beds from the Clocktower into the Watchtower once it got dark, claiming that they didn't know how long they would be there so they had to be comfortable. Lois had brought in enough groceries to feed fifty people for a month as well as anything else she could grab while she was at the store.

Mia and Casey had taken the bed that Clark had set up in the area upstairs, which would be safer, further away from the door. And Chloe and Oliver took the bed on the main floor, like they had done a long time ago, when Oliver had been on the wanted list by the government for being the Green Arrow.

After talking quietly for a long time about their plans and what they would be working on in the morning, Chloe and Oliver had finally managed to sleep. On Chloe's part, not a restful sleep at all, her brain felt like it was rushing to catch up with everything she'd missed and she kept having vivid dream after vivid dream, some of them more disturbing than others.

_She had a gun in each hand as she walked up the stairs of a tall building, her brown hair was tied up and she was all dressed in black. Without hesitating at all, she kicked a door open, walking into a room that instead of walls was surrounded by windows, a desk directly in front of the door and behind it sat a man. Possibly in his fifties, severely overweight and with glasses._

_He looked up and she saw the horror in his eyes right away._

_Before he could plead with her, however, she lifted the gun in her right hand and with a single shot, put a bullet right between his eyes._

At that moment, Chloe sat up with a gasp, her eyes open wide. She was breathing hard, her heart racing.

Oliver jerked awake at her gasp and he quickly sat up, reaching out and touching her arm. "Chloe?" His voice was thick with sleep, his eyes wide.

Her mouth was dry and even as she looked over at him, her eyes were still wide.

"What is it?" he whispered, shifting closer to her, getting a glimpse of her frightened expression from the moonlight streaming through the stained glass windows.

Chloe glanced upstairs for a moment to make sure they weren't being overheard then swallowed hard, lowering her voice as she held Oliver's gaze, "I think he had me killing people."

His own eyes widened a little at that and he swallowed hard, lifting a hand to her cheek. He'd been hoping he was wrong about that, but considering she'd nearly killed _him_ twice while under his influence, he wasn't all together shocked at the revelation. "Is that what you dreamed?" he murmured.

Pursing her lips together, she nodded, holding his gaze. "Man in his mid-fifties or so, bald, really big. Probably some kind of CEO. He was in a building that had glass windows and a really large desk. Big city behind him." She described, if a big name in the business industry had been assassinated, Oliver would have heard about it.

He paused at that, searching her eyes for a moment. "It sounds like you're describing Larry Mulvaney," he murmured, his chest tightening.

Chloe held her breath, keeping her eyes on his, "was he murdered with a bullet between his eyes?" She whispered.

"Two years ago," he whispered, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer to him, his heart beating quickly in his chest.

She stilled, looking away and letting out her breath slowly, her heart and mind both racing. "If he had me do this two years ago, there is no telling how many..." she stopped, her stomach turning.

"Shh," he whispered, tightening his arms around her. "It wasn't _you_ , Chloe."

Blowing out a breath, she closed her eyes, "I stopped myself from hurting Casey." She told him, "I was in there, somewhere."

"It's not the same thing," he murmured, rubbing her back.

She sighed deeply and lifted a hand to rub her face, "I need to find out if there were others."

"Promise me something first." His mouth was beside her ear, his voice low, but serious.

Chloe paused for a moment then nodded as she dropped her hand, waiting.

"That no matter what we find out, I'm not going to lose you again," he whispered, winding a hand in her hair and gently pulling her head back so she was looking up at him.

She swallowed hard and shook her head, lifting her arms to wrap them around him. "I'm not leaving," she promised, searching his eyes. "I would never willingly leave my family again."

He relaxed a little, then dipped his head, kissing her urgently.

Her arms tightened around him and kissed him back, pulling him closer. No matter what happened, she wouldn't let them pay the price for what someone else had done to her, Oliver and Casey had both been through enough.

"I love you," he whispered, sliding a hand down her back. "And we're gonna be okay. No matter what."

"I know," she whispered back, kissing the corner of his mouth, "I love you. I just want to take care of this so we can have our lives back."

"I know," he murmured, brushing his nose against hers. "We will."

She took a deep breath and pulled back slightly, cupping his cheek in her hand, "get some rest, you need to heal," she told him, "I'll start researching."

"It's early," he whispered. "Probably not even three yet. Stay here for awhile longer." He tucked some hair behind her ear.

Her chest tightened and she swallowed hard, as much as she needed to get up and start reading about this man and try to find others she possibly murdered, she couldn't deny him that. She could only begin to imagine how hard those three years had been on him. With a deep breath, she nodded slightly and leaned closer to him. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, but she could lay down with him until he did.

"Okay," she whispered, kissing him again.

Oliver kissed her back without hesitation, then slowly laid down, keeping her in his arms, sighing softly when her head rested against his chest. He stroked her hair gently. "Just...in case you were uh--I never...I haven't been with anyone," he whispered, closing his eyes.

Chloe paused and the hint of a smile appeared on her lips, she tightened her arm around him and pressed a kiss to his collarbone, "I wasn't," she whispered then lifted her head to look at him, "but thank you for telling me."

He gazed at her once more, his chest tightening a little. "You are so beautiful," he murmured.

Her face softened and she leaned down and kissed his cheek softly.

He turned his head and kissed her mouth again, lightly. "When this is all over...we're taking a second honeymoon. We'll bring Mia as a babysitter," he murmured.

She took a deep breath and brushed her thumb over his cheek, nodding slightly and brushing her nose against his, "sounds like a plan," she whispered to him, "but we might have to wait until school is out."

"Only a couple months," he responded, nodding.

"Good," she whispered, kissing him softly once more, "gives us time to plan."

Oliver smiled faintly against her mouth, massaging her scalp gently. "Come here," he whispered.

She shifted closer to him, as close as she could and brushed her lips against his cheek softly, "I'm here."

He gently tugged her head down to rest against his chest once more.

"Rest," she whispered to him, pressing another kiss against his chest, "I'm not going anywhere," she promised quietly.

"Love you," he murmured, tightening his arm around her.

"Love you too," she whispered, brushing her fingers over his cheek gently.

Within moments he'd fallen back asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

  


Tess stepped forward into the elevator at Watchtower. "Retinal scan: Mercer, Tess." Blinking, she stepped away from it, waiting as the elevator began its familiar ascent toward the top floor of the building. She made her way down the corridor moments later, shoving the doors open and freezing in her tracks as she spotted the familiar blond moving between computers quickly, at the _other_ familiar blond asleep on a bed in the middle of the floor, one arm slung over the edge, his face buried in the pillow.

A smile spread across her face. "Well. This is a nice surprise." She cocked her head, raising her eyebrows as she looked at Chloe.

Chloe turned around, pausing just a second as she looked at Tess, recollecting the times when they didn't get along so great, then Tess' help with rescuing Oliver and the truce they ended up reaching as well as all the times the two of them had teamed up, Chloe from Star City, Tess from Metropolis, to guide the guys and Dinah on particularly dangerous missions.

She had disabled Watchtower's audio since Casey and Oliver were still asleep. Mia had left the 'cage' as she called it just a few minutes ago to go for a run and get out for a while.

"Tess," she greeted, her voice low but she smiled, "good to see you too."

"Good to see you _alive_."

Chloe nodded and took a deep breath, glancing at Oliver's sleeping form then back at Tess, "yeah, glad that part is over," she smiled slightly, "how are you?"

"All things considered, I can't really lodge any complaints."

"Glad to hear it," she said sincerely then winced a little, "I'm afraid we have kind of taken over your workspace for the time being, Star City and any of the usual places weren't safe."

Tess shrugged. "There's plenty of space," she responded, glancing around, then moving over to her side. "What are you working on?"

Chloe hesitated but just for a quick moment. She could tell Tess the truth, she knew Tess had blood on her hands too and she would, more than likely, not judge Chloe for it. But she didn't want to put that kind of pressure on the others unless it was completely necessary, and for now, it wasn't. "Trying to track down Maxwell Lord." She said blankly, her expression growing serious.

She quickly looked over at the other woman, startled by that. "He's the one who's had you all this time?"

Pursing her lips together, she nodded, "he wiped my brain and gave me another identity, apparently."

Tess winced at that. "For what purpose?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet," she lied, turning back to the monitor, "but my priority right now is to find him and stop him before he can hurt anyone else."

Nodding a little, she moved over to one of the other computers. "Have you considered contacting the former Red-Queen?"

"You think she'd know?" Chloe asked, frowning a little, "she hasn't been doing the work anymore, has she?"

"No, but she may still have connections. Might be worth a shot?"

"Maybe," she agreed with a nod, but not really planning on contacting Mrs. Kent unless absolutely necessary. She couldn't imagine her reaction if she learned the truth and she didn't want to. "He was in Star City two days ago, I'm trying to trace his steps from there."

Nodding a little, Tess glanced at her sideways. "Are you all right?" Her voice grew quiet.

Chloe paused at the genuine concern in Tess' voice and turned to look at her then nodded slightly, taking a deep breath, "yeah... I just want to get everything taken care of and not put them through even more than they've already been through."

Nodding, as well, she glanced back at her own computer screen. "I'll help you however I can."

"Thank you," Chloe said sincerely, "all the help we can get will be appreciated." Until it came down to actually hunting the bastard down, that was.

"Of course."

Across the room, Oliver sat up suddenly, breathing hard, his face paler than usual.

Chloe turned around, her eyes widening a little as her hands suddenly dropped from the keyboard and she started toward the bed, "Ollie?"

He rubbed a hand over his face even as he climbed out of the bed, wrapping her in his arms silently and shutting his eyes.

She pursed her lips together and wrapped her arms around him too, letting out a breath. "It's okay," she whispered, guessing what kind of nightmare had terrified him, "I'm here."

"I was afraid I'd been dreaming the whole time," he murmured.

Her chest tightened a little and she turned her head, pressing a kiss to his temple. "I'm sorry."

Nodding, he rested his head against hers. "Is Casey awake?" His voice was quiet.

"No," she whispered quietly, rubbing a hand over his back, "Mia went for a run and Tess is here," she told him, adding the last part in a very quiet whisper.

He drew in a breath, letting it out slowly and opening his eyes, looking across the room to where the red-head stood at the computer terminal. He nodded slightly at her.

"Ignore me, I'm just working," Tess said, nodding back at him then turning her back to the couple.

Chloe smiled a little over her shoulder then turned back to Ollie, looking up at him and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Oliver forced himself to relax, lifting a hand to Chloe's cheek and kissing her lightly on the mouth. "I'm gonna grab a shower," he whispered. "And start some breakfast. Casey will be awake soon, and she'll want pancakes."

"Sounds good," she told him after returning the kiss but instead of pulling away, she tightened her arms around him.

"You could join me," he murmured against her ear.

She closed her eyes and held her breath, shivering slightly both at his nearness and words and as memories that suddenly rushed back to her, "you're still injured," she pointed out in a very quiet whisper then kissed his jaw just below his ear, "besides, I want to make sure Emil tested my blood for _everything_ before we consider anything like that." She couldn't affirm that she _hadn't_ been with anyone during her brainwashed state after all.

He grew still at that, his chest tightening as he slowly pulled away to look at her, his eyes wide. "Chloe...?"

"Oliver. Stop." She warned right away, looking up at him, "I don't know anything, I just want to be sure. There's no need to freak out."

He swallowed hard, his stomach knotting. "So you don't have any memories of..."

"No, I don't," she assured him, lifting a hand to cup his cheek, "relax."

He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, leaning into her touch.

"I'll email him and ask him to run the tests so we can be sure," she whispered, "and you go shower then get started on those pancakes."

"All right." He swallowed hard, turning his head and pressing a kiss to her fingertips. "I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Okay," she whispered quietly, pressing a kiss to his cheek before reluctantly pulling back.

"Love you," he whispered against her ear before turning and heading toward the bathroom.

Chloe smiled a little and looked at him over her shoulder before taking a deep breath and making her way back to the terminal she was working from.

* * *

Oliver pulled up another file on the screen, staring at it for a moment and then glancing over at his wife. "Chloe? Do you recognize this man?"

She stared at the picture for a long moment then paused, closing her eyes tightly for a second as she searched for the memories before sighing deeply and nodding, her stomach turning as she remembered. "Some alley, he reacted. About... five shots?" She whispered, opening her eyes again and looking up at Oliver.

"I don't know why it didn't click with Mulvaney," he murmured, shaking his head as he turned to face her, reaching out and putting his hands on her shoulders. "But this guy?" He motioned toward the screen. "His name was Patrick Fitzgerald. As in Fitzgerald's Refinery."

She stared at him and shook her head a little, "what's the connection?" She asked.

"Lex," he whispered. "They were all CEO's who were long time rivals with the Luthor's."

Her eyes widened slightly at that information, "did LuthorCorp take over their companies after their deaths?"

"No. But Lex's new company, Lexcorp, did." His jaw tightened a little. He rubbed a hand over his face angrily. "I should have been paying more attention."

"This isn't your fault, Oliver." She said, "but that means Maxwell is in Lex's pocket and our problem is a lot bigger than we initially thought."

There was no use in playing what if's and should haves at the moment, so he shoved those thoughts aside for the time being, nodding a little. "We get to Maxwell, and then we get to Lex."

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded slightly, "this means we have to be extra careful about how we approach Maxwell, we both know Lex isn't likely to be far from his favorite employees."

Oliver met her eyes and nodded, as well, his eyes narrowing and growing darker.

She held his gaze for a moment then took a deep breath, standing up and moving to a different computer, "I've changed my mind, by the way," she told him, jaw tight as she told the computer to cross-reference the two known victims.

He didn't even have to ask what she was talking about. "Good." His voice was quiet. "Because I can't think of any two people who deserve what's coming to them more than Maxwell Lord and Lex Luthor."

"There is no telling how many others he's doing this to," she told him, typing fast, "hopefully it will wear off once he's gone and they can get their lives back too."

The thought of anyone else going through what he and Casey had gone through for the past three years made him tense even more. He reached out and rested his hand on her back, stepping closer to her as she typed. "We'll get them."

"I know," she said firmly, chewing down on her bottom lip as she focused on the screen in front of her, "I just want to make sure we get him sooner rather than later."

Nodding, he too, focused on the screen, his lips set in a thin, determined line. Lex had crossed an unforgivable line this time. And he was going to find out pretty quickly that he'd picked the wrong married couple to fuck around with.

* * *

Considering the conversations Chloe and Oliver were having as well as all of the information they were uncovering that made the connection between Lex, Maxwell and the murders so clear, Chloe was extremely glad that Mia had decided to drag Casey along with Lois and Clark to the farm for the day. Casey, of course, completely hated the idea and she had been about enthused at the prospect of cows as Chloe herself would have been at her age, but they didn't have a choice in the matter. They needed to get things done and Casey already knew a lot more than she should as it was.

Once this was over with she wouldn't want to take her eyes off her daughter and husband probably for another decade or so, but right now they had to concentrate. Tess had, thankfully left after a couple of hours and had stayed away. The woman had gotten a lot better as far as agility went, but Chloe had set up a secured server within Watchtower's to conduct this particular investigation since she didn't want Tess stumbling upon any of the information and it was a lot easier to keep the whole thing from her if she wasn't around. She had no intentions of forcing Tess to lie to the rest of the team about Chloe being a murderer so it was better this way.

The sun had come and gone and the two of them were still in front of the computers. Lois had called just a little while ago to check on them and said the four of them were planning on having dinner at the farm, to which Chloe replied with even more gratitude and slipped in a request to have both Mia and Casey spend the night at the farm. Luckily, Lois picked up on it without a problem and said she would take care of it.

Rubbing her hands over her face, Chloe stood up from her chair and picked up her mug, starting the coffee maker for probably the hundredth time that day. "He has to be somewhere," she murmured, leaning against the small counter and stretching as she waited for the coffee to brew.

"I vote we start putting GPS trackers on all the bad guys so we always know where the hell they are," he grumbled.

Chloe sighed softly and watched him for a moment, "how are you doing?"

He looked back at her. "Considerably better than usual." He winked at her.

Her face softened and she pushed herself from the counter and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him from behind and leaned against his back.

He leaned back against her, covering her arms with his own. "How are _you_ doing?"

"Looking forward to getting this over with so we can get back to our lives," she admitted, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"Ditto to that, Professor," he whispered.

She hugged him a little tighter, resting her cheek over his back and closing her eyes, "hopefully soon."

"I love you," he said quietly, linking his fingers through hers.

"I love you too," she whispered to him, "how's your injury?" She asked quietly, squeezing his hands slightly in hers.

He grimaced a little, but was glad she couldn't see him doing so. "I'm all right."

"Ollie." She warned, cocking her head and shifting a little to look at him, "the truth."

He let out a breath, glancing down at her. "A little sore," he admitted.

"I'm really sorry," she whispered to him, brushing her nose over his shoulder as she looked up at him.

"You don't have to keep apologizing, Chloe." His voice was gentle and he turned so he was facing her.

"I know," she whispered, shifting her arms around him as he turned then stepping closer to him, "I just feel bad that you went through so much and then this happened on top of that," she said sincerely.

He kissed the top of her head, closing his eyes and lifting a hand to her cheek. "You being back and safe more than outweighs anything bad that's happened," he informed her.

Nodding slightly as she rubbed a hand over his back slowly, "just feel better."

Oliver slid a hand up into her hair, kissing her slowly as he brushed his nose against hers lightly.

She kissed him back and took a deep breath, "I may not remember everything that happened in those three years," she said quietly, "but I missed you too."

His chest tightened at that and he leaned his forehead against hers. "I know. Subconsciously," he murmured.

Pursing her lips together, she nodded slightly, taking a deep breath, "I'm just glad you and Casey are mostly okay."

"We'll be fine now," he said softly, kissing her again.

"I know," she whispered against his lips before kissing him back as she lifted a hand to cup his cheek. The computers beeped a moment later, so she pulled back and blinked, "looks like we got something."

"Yeah?" He raised his eyebrows a little and glanced toward the computer.

Chloe untangled her arms from around him and walked over to her station, clicking a couple of times then sighing, "it's just an email from Emil," she said, glancing at him.

"What's it say?" he asked, moving to her side once more.

She read the email for a moment then let out a breath, "at least some good news," she told him, looking at him, "he ran the blood tests and didn't find anything."

He exhaled at that news, watching her intently. "That is good news," he said softly.

Nodding, Chloe turned back to the computer and sent Emil a quick thank you before taking a deep breath and turning to look at Oliver once more, "one less thing for you to worry about."

He stepped closer to her, meeting her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," she murmured, reaching up and cupping his cheek. They used to say their I love yous often enough, especially after they got married, but she had noticed he was saying it a lot more often than usual, and she knew he was just doing it to make up for all the time he lost, they'd lost.

Oliver leaned into her touch, cupping her cheek as well, and brushing his lips lightly over hers, groaning softly when the computer beeped again.

Chloe couldn't help but smile a little at that. She kissed him one more time, "guess you didn't miss the constant interruptions either?" She teased quietly, turning to the computer once more.

"Only what was being interrupted," he told her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder.

She cupped his cheek and turned her head up to look at him, kissing him softly on the corner of his mouth before turning back to the computer and pulling up the screen with the warning and stilling.

"What is it?" he asked quietly, squinting at the type on the computer screen.

"It's him." She told him, zooming in on the image, "he's in Metropolis." Her heart was suddenly beating fast against her chest.

His jaw tightened as he pulled away from her. " _Good_." It made things much easier that he'd come to them. He headed across the floor of Watchtower to grab his gear.

Chloe took a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her face, walking over to the suitcase they had brought from Star City and changing into all black clothes a second later. It was something she'd picked up with the Suicide Squad and since she didn't have a costume for missions, she had adopted that as her identity when she had to go out there.

He changed as quickly as she had, pulling his hood up over his head and sliding on his night-vision glasses. "Are you ready?" His voice was quiet.

She walked up to the vault and pressed her thumb against the keypad, picking up a couple of guns and loading them before turning to face him and nodding, "let's go." She said, her voice determined, her expression blank.

"You don't have to do this, Chloe. I can handle Lord," he said quietly.

"No," she told him, holding his gaze and once her guns were secured on her pants, she held out her hand to him, "we're doing this together."


	14. Chapter 14

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

It hadn't taken them long to reach their location, unsurprisingly, Maxwell was hiding in one of the many LuthorCorp warehouses in the city. Chloe and Oliver had managed to get a plan together on the drive but there really wasn't much to plan for: take down whatever security he had in place, get rid of Maxwell Lord himself. For good. They didn't want to risk questioning him since they didn't want to risk him taking control of one or both of them.

When Oliver parked the car, Chloe took a deep breath and silently nodded at him before reaching for the door, "let's get this over with."

He reached out and gave her arm a gentle squeeze, then nodded and sliding out of the car, reaching back to grab his crossbow.

She took a deep breath and looked at the facility for a moment, pursing her lips together she considered the door then looked up at one of the glass windows and arched her eyebrows at him.

Oliver followed her gaze, then nodded slightly. "Climb aboard the Green Arrow Express." He turned so his back was facing her.

She smirked slightly and wrapped an arm around his neck, holding on firmly to him as she pulled one of the guns from her pants and held on to it before looking up at him and nodding.

He smirked, as well, making sure she was secure before releasing the trigger on his grappling claw, sending them sailing upwards rapidly.

Chloe turned her face against his shoulder, shielding it from the shards of glass that flew as Oliver swung them through the window but wasted no time in looking around once that was over, they landed on a second floor, the corridor was narrow but they could see below and there was Maxwell. Sitting on a chair, smoking a cigar. Chloe's jaw tightened instantly.

"I wondered how long it would be before you showed up here." He looked up at them, a bored expression on his face.

She glanced at Oliver then started toward the narrow stairway and didn't hesitate before starting her way down, "I would hate to disappoint you," she told him, not taking her eyes off him.

Oliver was right behind her, his body tense.

"My favorite prodigy? Never," he responded, this time with amusement.

"So there are others," she said, smirking a little, "thank you for answering that question."

He smirked back at her, then glanced at Oliver. "Ah yes. Green Arrow. So glad you could make it. This will be much more satisfying." He rose to his feet.

"It will be," Chloe assured him, stepping forward and lifting a gun toward him.

"Indeed, _Watchtower_ ," he said evenly.

She stilled and cocked her head for a moment, arching her eyebrows slowly then smirking. She knew exactly what he was hoping would happen and she planned on letting him believe it had worked.

Oliver knew exactly what she was doing, as well, and he moved toward Maxwell quickly. "Remember who you are, Chloe," he said urgently.

Chloe shifted the gun in her hand but didn't move otherwise, she wasn't sure if she had to get a command from Maxwell, but this way, they could definitely use the element of surprise against him.

"Kill him," Maxwell ordered.

Oliver's eyes widened with feigned horror. "No. You don't have to do this!"

She grinned slowly then quickly moved forward, kicking the cigar from Maxwell's lips then pressing the gun to his forehead. "Your tricks don't work on me anymore."

Maxwell raised his eyebrows slightly. "Well, I'll admit. That _is_ a surprise."

Oliver pressed the tip of the arrow in his crossbow to the back of the man's head. "And you're not going to have a chance to ruin more lives."

Chloe's jaw clenched as she glanced up at Oliver, holding her breath, her resolve to kill him wavering slightly but she instantly remembered that Maxwell nearly had her kill not only her husband, but their daughter too and she could only begin to imagine how many others he had made her hurt, do his dirty work for him, "you turned me into a killer," she said, focusing on the man once more, "and now you get to experience your handwork first hand."

Before Maxwell could even respond, Oliver felt a wave of calmness wash over him, and his arm relaxed, lowering his crossbow to his side.

And so did Chloe, she blinked a couple of times and saw J'onn standing next to Maxwell, between her and Oliver. Not in his normal, human disguise, but his real, green self.

 _You don't want to hurt anyone_ , his voice echoed in both Chloe's and Oliver's mind and he lifted a green hand to Maxwell's head.

Oliver smiled serenely at Chloe, feeling completely relaxed and still.

She finally lowered her gun and took a deep breath, looking over at Oliver and nodding slightly.

J'onn finally closed his eyes and focused on Maxwell once more, the man's body grew relaxed on his chair and his head rolled back limply and a moment later, the martian released his control over Chloe and Oliver and opened his eyes again.

Ollie blinked a few times, then looked over at J'onn, frowning. "What the hell?"

"I've taken care of him," J'onn said calmly.

Chloe frowned, looking from Oliver, to J'onn and back to Maxwell's seemingly sleeping form, "what did you do?"

"Put his mind in an endless loop of unpleasant images." He smiled faintly. "A certain bat informed me that the two of you were plotting to do something you would regret later. He's also arranged for a permanent stay in Arkham."

She took a deep breath and shook her head a little, putting her gun away then rubbing her hands over her face.

"I'll take him to Gotham," J'onn offered, "the two of you have other things to worry about."

Oliver nodded slightly. "Thanks," he said quietly.

Chloe nodded too and took a deep breath, "thank you," she told J'onn quietly and watched as he picked Maxwell up and disappeared.

He raised his eyebrows a little and looked back at Chloe wordlessly.

She sighed softly and looked over at him, "I guess that's one way to take care of it."

Nodding a little, he stepped toward her, holding his hand out. "What do you say we get out of here?"

She pursed her lips together and nodded slightly, taking his hand and looking up at him. 

"Guess we can use the door this time. Even if it's less fun." He smirked, lacing his fingers through hers and guiding her toward the exit.

Chloe squeezed his hand slightly then smiled slightly, "you okay?"

"Nothing a good night's sleep with my wife won't cure," he informed her.

She leaned closer and let go of his hand, wrapping her arm around him and pressing a kiss to his cheek, "and we can worry about Lex later," she suggested.

"Yeah. We've been worrying about Lex for years now. And knowing him, he's probably in hiding right now," he murmured. He glanced down at her, dropping a kiss to her forehead.

Chloe nodded and took a deep breath, "that means we should be safe to go home in the morning." 

"I like that plan," he whispered.

She nodded a little and smiled slightly, relaxing against his side, "so do I." She was glad they hadn't had to go through with it, even if she felt determined to, it wasn't who they were. Far from it.


	15. Chapter 15

Note: This fic is canon up until Fortune and picks about ten years into the future.  
Banner: .

  


Oliver moved up behind his wife as she stood on the balcony of their living room that overlooked the Pacific ocean. He slid his arms around her, resting his chin lightly on her shoulder and smiling. The three of them had just finished up a spaghetti dinner he'd made that evening, and Casey was inside picking a movie for them to all watch together. 

Chloe had been home and safe for nearly six weeks now, and in some ways it felt like those three years had never happened at all. They had all shifted back into a regular routine together. In other ways, it felt like those three years had been longer. Every time he and Chloe made love, it was like the first time, urgent and needy and they couldn't seem to get enough of one another. Like they were afraid fate would pull them apart once more. Like every touch might be their last. 

But he was determined not to let that be the case. Shortly after J'onn had hauled Maxwell Lord off to Arkham Asylum, Oliver and Chloe had mutually agreed to have GPS tracking devices implanted in both of them _and_ in Casey. Just in case someone else got a bright idea about taking off with one of them. They weren't the only ones who'd experienced a long separation. After some digging into Maxwell's files, they had discovered that he had brainwashed several other people and turned them into killing machines. It had taken several days to track down all of them, but J'onn had done so, had un-triggered them, and they'd each returned to _their_ own families, as well. 

Justice League one, Lex Luthor zero. 

So far. 

Except they had no current leads on the bald man, which wasn't surprising. He was nothing if not slippery and good at hiding. He'd had plenty of practice, after all. 

"Penny for your thoughts, Mrs. Queen," he murmured against her ear. 

Chloe shivered softly and smiled, wrapping her arms around his and leaning back against him. "Just looking forward to next week," she whispered to him, turning her head up to look at him. Casey was almost in her summer break and they would be going to Spain for most of the next month. Being home was great but she knew both Oliver and Casey needed a break from it.

They had been there all along and while they were in Star City, they would always find things to do. Chloe with research, Ollie with patrol and even Casey always kept busy like her parents. Time away would help them all focus on each other and spend real _quality_ family time. There was a lot Chloe had missed, especially when it came to Casey's development. She had been a five year old child when she vanished after all and now she was almost a teenager.

"You and me both." He nodded a little, pressing a soft kiss to her jaw and turning to look at the setting sun once more.

She rested her head between his neck and shoulder and kept her eyes out in the ocean, "her birthday is coming up," she said quietly. While technically she knew it wasn't her fault, she still felt guilty for missing three of them.

"It'll be the best birthday she's had in a very long time," he said just as quietly, tightening his arms around her just a little and resting his head against hers.

"What did you do last year?" She asked quietly, not entirely sure what kind of party Casey would want.

"We went to Disneyland," he told her.

"How did it go?" She asked, smiling softly.

He paused for a moment, then pulled away, turning her so she was facing him. "Come with me. I have something to show you."

She raised her eyebrows, surprised then nodded slightly, "okay." She said curiously.

Oliver smiled at her, leading her inside and glancing over to where Casey was still sorting through DVDs very intently. He led her down the hall and into their bedroom, pulling open the closet doors and pulling out a very large box from inside.

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little and looked down at the box, "what is that?"

He moved over and set the box down on their bed, pulling off the lid. Inside lay letters. Hundreds of them. There were also several books of photographs, of hand drawn pictures 'to Mommy.' "This is...for you." His voice was soft.

Her eyes teared up instantly, she took a deep breath and looked down at it, picking up one of the drawings and glancing over at him.

"I saved all of them," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't want you to miss out on everything or feel like either of us had forgotten about you, because...it couldn't be further from the truth."

Holding her breath, she nodded slightly and stepped closer, cupping his neck in her hand as she tiptoed and kissed him deeply.

Oliver kissed her back without hesitation, winding his arms around her tightly.

She wrapped an arm around him and kissed him urgently for a moment before pulling back slightly. "Thank you," she whispered, looking up at him.  
"You're more than welcome," he whispered back, lifting a hand to her cheek.

Casey showed up in the room a moment later and arched her eyebrows, "what are you doing?" She asked curiously, looking from her parents to the box and instantly climbing on the bed to look inside of it.

He kissed Chloe's cheek softly, then turned to look at their daughter. "Showing your mom some stuff we saved for her," he told her, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Did you pick out a movie?"

"Yeah," she said distractedly as she started digging through the box.

Chloe smiled at Ollie and took a deep breath before turning to Casey and the box too, "you kept busy," she told her daughter, smiling softly at her as she picked up another drawing.

Oliver dug into the box and pulled out an album of pictures he'd taken at Casey's last birthday party. "Here we go."

Pushing the box aside to make more room on the bed, Chloe sat down and took the album, smiling up at Ollie, "I heard you went to Disneyland last year."

Casey grinned at that and moved to sit down next to her mom, "yeah, dad let me invite all my friends and we had a party there, can we go again?" 

He glanced at Chloe, resting a hand on her arm. "If that's what you want."

"Well," she shifted on the bed, "Rachel said Disney _world_ is much better." Casey told her dad.

"You've been there," Chloe reminded her, then glanced at Ollie, "when you were three."

"That doesn't _count_ ," she told her mom. 

Oliver chuckled. "I'm fine with Florida, if that's what everyone wants." He glanced at Chloe once more, raising his eyebrows a little.

"Of course it counts, your dad, Mia and I had fun," she teased, grinning softly, "but I suppose if that's what you really want, we could make an effort."

Casey grinned and knelt down on the bed once more, looking between her parents, "awesome! And aunt Lois and uncle Clark can come too?"

"The more, the merrier," he told her, reaching out and ruffling her hair lightly.

" _Dad_!" She complained, making a face and pulling away from him but still grinning.

Chloe wrapped an arm around her so she wouldn't accidentally fall of the bed, and smiled. Ollie had told her about how things had been between him and Casey lately but it seemed that whatever tension that had been there before had completely dissolved. Casey even confessed to Chloe about being worried about her dad before, but that she was okay now. She had always been too smart and perceptive for her own good.

He chuckled at her reaction. "All right. I think it's movie-time. I'll go start the popcorn. What'd you pick out?" he asked her, smirking a little because he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"The Incredibles." Casey smirked, sliding off the bed and giving both her parents a knowing look. 

His mouth dropped open. "What? No Harry Potter?" He shook his head.

"It's okay, dad, we can watch Harry Potter _after_ ," she assured him, "this is more fitting anyway," she called, starting down the hallway.

Chloe couldn't help but smirk as she stood up from the bed and took Ollie's hand, "even if you hadn't come out of the superhero closet all those years ago, I'm fairly sure she'd still have figured out." She told him. 

He shook his head a little. "Well, she is _your_ daughter, so I don't doubt it at all." He smirked back at her, tugging lightly on her hand again. "One more thing."

Grinning slowly, Chloe arched her eyebrows and turned to face him once more, "yeah?"

Oliver winked at her, letting go of her hand long enough to move to the bedside table, opening the top drawer and pulling out a small black velvet box. "This is for you."

She cocked her head down at the box and took it from him, watching him for a moment then opening it and pausing, "oh," she said quietly. There were two rings in it. Both extremely familiar. One was her engagement ring, an emerald in the center with a diamond on each side of it and a white gold wedding band.

Her face softened and she glanced up at him. She had lost her rings somewhere while she was gone, and while they hadn't exactly gotten engaged before getting married, he had revealed to her shortly after they found out they had walked down the isle under Zatanna's spell, that he had bought her that engagement ring just before their one year anniversary but hadn't given it to her then because he didn't want to freak her out.

"They look exactly the same," she said quietly, her eyes teary once more as she smiled up at him, holding the box out for him once more before lifting her left hand in his direction. 

"Exact replicas," he agreed just as quietly, taking her hand in his and sliding them both onto her finger before leaning in and kissing her softly.

She kissed him back, cupping his cheek in her hand as something dawned on her, as she pulled away, "we missed our ten year anniversary," she said quietly, "by three months."

Oliver's chest tightened a little at the expression on her face. He lifted a hand to her cheek, as well, gazing at her. "We'll have ten more to celebrate. And ten more after that," he murmured. "And then another ten..." He kissed her softly.

She smiled softly and kissed him once more, taking a deep breath then nodding, "and we can celebrate a little late while we go on this second honeymoon you proposed," she said quietly, dropping her hand to his and linking their fingers together. 

Oliver smiled back at her, giving her hand a squeeze. "I intend to celebrate with you a _lot_. Just so you know." He grinned.

Chloe grinned a little and raised her eyebrows, "glad we're on the same page going into it," she said, brushing her nose against his.

"I'm starting the movie!" Casey's voice came from down the hall.

She took a deep breath and shook her head slightly, smiling, "Come on."

He kissed her again, quickly this time and led her toward the door. First they had more celebrating to do with their daughter. They could save the private celebration for after she was asleep in bed.


End file.
